Until the End of Time
by Kitana Lunara
Summary: Judai was captivated by Yusei from the first moment he laid eyes on the other. After Paradox was defeated and they all went their separate ways, he spent every moment trying to find a way to get to the future to visit him again. What Judai never expected was to fall in love with the stoic mechanic. What he expected even less, was for that mechanic to fall in love with him.
1. Finally Made It

His nerves gather and twisted his gut into tight knots and he couldn't help biting his lip. Judai couldn't believe he was about to do this. The last time he'd tried, he'd ended up coming too early, but this time, just maybe, he'd finally gotten it right. For him, it'd been years, but for the other how long would it have been? A couple days? Hours? Maybe even a month?

The brunette swallowed hard before raising his hand to knock. His hand shook terribly, and he hesitated. What if it had been too long? This was a mistake. He couldn't follow through with this. Paradox was one thing, but he couldn't mess up the other's timeline any more than that had.

' _Will you just knock already?'_ Haou bit at him, as usual rather short and irritated about every little detail.

' _He said he hoped to see you one day. Why not make it today?'_ Yubell continued, much gentler than the other inhabitant on his soul.

Before Judai could either reply to them or make up his mind, the door opened itself, revealing a homely older woman who didn't hesitate to smile widely at him.

"Goodness, I wasn't expecting any company today. Who are you, young man?" She asked.

"I'm J-" Judai barely got a word out before someone else cut in.

"Martha, I'm heading- J-Judai?" The familiar voice and sound of things dropping made Judai snap to attention, looking behind the woman to see a familiar man standing at the base of the stairs with dropped tools at his feet.

Martha jumped at the sudden crash and looked back at the raven inside, "You know him, Yusei?"

Yusei only nodded, seeming about as lost for words as Judai for a moment. He collected himself quickly and bent down to pick up what he'd dropped. "Yeah, I know him. He's a friend. I just wasn't expecting to see him again. I thought he moved across the ocean." He explained smoothly, not even stumbling over the cover story of how they actually met.

"I see, well, come on in then, sweetheart. Any friend of Yusei's is family." Martha invited happily, stepping aside and ushering the other in.

Judai could hardly believe it as he walked in. He'd done it. Finally, he came at the right time. Yusei recognized him! He eagerly followed Martha inside and let himself be lead into a small living room. She made him sit down while Yusei vanished to presumably go put his things away and she went to make them some tea.

It didn't take long at all until Yusei was back. The other sat down on the couch beside him and they both just stared for awhile, unsure of how to begin. Thankfully, curtesy of Martha, they both soon had tea to distract them and mull over the awkward silence.

"I can't believe you actually came," Yusei finally said, looking up at Judai from his cup. "I was beginning to think you forgot."

"F-Forgot? No way! Hey, man. When I make a promise, I keep it. I'd never forget." Judai shook his head, relieved one of them finally spoke up. "Time's just a really weird thing. It took me a couple years to even get here and even then, it was too early the first time and-"

"The first time?" Yusei normally hated interrupting others, but he was sure he hadn't met Judai until the events with Paradox almost a year ago.

Judai shook his head and waved him off, "Paradox for me happened when I was 17. I was in Italy just trying to help those like me when he attacked…That was…well, I think it was over 20 years ago."

"20 years? You're 37?!" Yusei couldn't believe him. Sure, Judai looked older, but not _that_ much older.

Judai laughed brightly at the face the other was giving him. He remembered Yusei being stoic, so the shocked look he had was unexpected. "No, no, I'm actually 21."

"But how?" The other tilted his head, surprise quickly turning to interest and confusion. He started mentally trying to take apart every possible way the other could be only 21 when supposedly 20 years had passed since he was 17.

"I found a way into the spirit world and found a Time Wizard. They helped send me into the future, so I could find you."

Yusei listened intently as Judai explained how long it had taken to even find an entrance into the duel spirit world, and then track down one of the apparently illusive wizards. Something was bothering him the entire time, though. He really couldn't keep it to himself.

"Judai, believe me, I'm glad to see you, but…What about your friends from your time?" He asked, frowning a little. "You left them…"

Judai's smile saddened but didn't vanish. He shrugged and took a long drink of his tea. "Really, we were already separated. Alexis went off to college and we lost touch, and I hadn't heard from Sirus since I'd left Duel Academy. I guess I could have gone to find them again, but too much time passed. I kinda just figured they had moved on already, you know."

Yusei still didn't look all too comforted by his answer at all, and Judai really couldn't blame him. It must honestly sound like he didn't value or care about his friends all that much since he'd seemed so willing to leave them behind like that just to reunite with Yusei.

"I doubt they did…They probably missed you." Yusei said with a sigh, knowing his friends would be furious with him were he to vanish for 20 years and then turn up not a day older than when he'd left.

"You're probably right," Judai chuckled a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, they're fine. I mean, I kinda already cut all ties with them when I went off on my own anyway."

Yusei shook his head, but dropped the subject, finishing off his drink. "If you've been in the time warp for 20 years, I'm assuming you don't have a place to stay?"

"A-A place to stay?" Judai sounded like he hadn't even thought of that, and in truth he hadn't. He just figured he'd meet up with Yusei again and go from there, not that that had worked out so well the first time.

Yusei smiled a bit in amusement and stood up, collecting their cups once Judai finished his. "I didn't think so. Why don't you stay here with Martha and I until you get that figured out? She won't mind and there's space in my room for another bed."

"What? No, I can't, Yusei. Technically, you both just met me. I couldn't." Judai protested, getting up as well.

"It's fine, Judai. You can stay with us until you find somewhere to stay for yourself if you want, but neither Martha or I am going to let you be homeless until then." Yusei insisted, walking out of the room to the kitchen to wash their cups. He returned shortly, glad the other hadn't tried to sneak off while he was busy. "Follow me. You can put your bag in my room and then we can go get the other bed."

Judai wasn't given another chance to protest as the other just turned and walked out of the room, leaving him to scramble to grab his bag and follow after him like a lost puppy.

* * *

 **Lunara: I've noticed a lack of Starshipping fics, so I decided to help change that! I hope you enjoy this as much as I'm already enjoying writing it.**

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews and Favorites greatly appreciated!**


	2. Will You Just Sleep Already?

The weeks following were awkward to say the least. Yusei would be up late into the night studying and then out all day either working or going to school, so they never really got a chance to talk very seriously. Judai still managed to learn that after the World Riding Duel Grand Prix, all of Yusei's friends had taken different paths and that he and Crow were the only ones left in Neo Domino at the time. Yusei was in college to become an engineer like his father, hoping to restart the Zero reactor, but this time, do it right. Judai also learned that Yusei was insisting on paying for all of this on his own, saving whatever he'd won from the Grand Prix for emergencies.

"Okay, seriously, do you ever sleep?" Judai asked, yawning as he rolled over in his bed to find the other still awake at 3am, on his laptop doing…something. He usually just assumed it was homework.

Yusei glanced over at him briefly before turning his attention back to his computer. "Of course I sleep, Judai."

"When?"

"Is that really important?"

Judai grumbled at the other and got up from his bed, going over to the other and closing his laptop. "Yes. It is. You need to sleep at some point."

If looks could kill, Judai was certain that he would most likely be 6 feet under at this moment. Yusei's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his voice dropped to a low, threatening growl.

"Judai." He warned, only growing more irritated when the other didn't back away from him. "Don't _ever_ touch my laptop again."

"Then get some sleep! You're going to work yourself into the ground, and then what?" Judai demanded, refusing to back down. He was worried about his friend. He hadn't actually seen Yusei sleep longer than an hour nap here or there since he'd started staying with him, and that was nearly a month ago.

"Keep your voice down, you're going to wake Martha." Yusei scolded, reopening his laptop and choosing to ignore Judai instead.

Judai was all too tempted to try closing the laptop again to regain Yusei's attention, but judging from the look he got earlier, that would result in a far more unsavory consequence than a simple warning. "You know what? Fine. But if you won't sleep, neither will I."

"Judai, you can't be serious. I doubt you'd make it more than an hour." Yusei retorted, giving him an annoyed look.

"Is that a challenge Mr. Fudo?" Judai taunted, going over and sitting on his bed. He folded his arms childishly over his chest and glared the other down.

Yusei met his glare with one of his own. "If that's how you wish to see it, Mr. Yuki." He shot back.

Judai only continued to glare at him and wait. About an hour or two in of total silence; however, he was quickly realizing this was going to be harder than he thought. He was already starting to nod off, but Yusei showed no signs of tiring at all.

"Come on, Yusei," he complained, yawning. "You need to rest. Sleep is just as important as whatever you're working on."

Still, he got no response from the other. He didn't even get a sideways glance this time. He had to think of a different way to get Yusei to listen to him. It couldn't be healthy for him to be staying up so much, even if it were for school and work. Judai could see the bags under Yusei's eyes, so the other couldn't tell him he just wasn't tired.

At some point while he was thinking about what to do, whether it was before or after he considered smothering the other with a pillow or forcing him to sleep with chloroform, he wasn't sure, Judai must have nodded off. He woke up with a start to find the bed across from his empty and made. He even had a blanket wrapped around him.

"Dang it!" He cried, looking at the clock to see it was half past 10am. Yusei was in class right now and had been for an hour.

His heart sank a little in defeat, and he got up slowly to stretch out the kinks from sleeping sitting. Judai left the room and walked out to the kitchen to find Martha cooking something to eat for breakfast. By the smell of things, it appeared they were having pancakes that day.

"Good morning, Judai," Martha greeted, setting down a plate in front of him along with a napkin with some white pills on it. "Some Tylenol. Yusei said you might be sore this morning."

"What?" Judai looked down at the medicine in confusion. "Why would he say that? I mean, I am, but still…"

"I don't really know myself. He just said he saw you sleeping funny last night and thought you might kink your neck like that. Supposedly, he'd tried to get you to straighten out, but you weren't listening." She chuckled, amused by how she imagined the situation.

"O-Oh…" He really couldn't remember anything past 6am. Maybe Yusei had tried to get him to lay down. Maybe he just told Martha he tried so she wouldn't question him on why he didn't. "I guess I'll thank him later."

Later never seemed to come though. Yusei didn't come home at his usual time that night, and when Martha called him, all he said was that he got called into work to cover for someone else.

"I really wish that boy would learn to tell them no," Martha sighed as the hour got later and later. It seemed Judai wasn't the only one worried about him.

"Or at least learn how to sleep," Judai added, still upset about last night.

Martha chuckled softly and sat down in the living room with him. "If you can figure out a way to make him sleep, I'll bake you a cake. Yusei's always been like this. He doesn't know how to do things half-heartedly. It's always all or nothing with him." She explained, rocking her chair. "I agree though. He should at least rest a little bit."

"How can we get him to though? I tried getting him to talk to me last night, but he got so upset when I touched his laptop, he wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the night."

"You touched his laptop? I'm amazed you still have your hands." Martha was stunned. She hadn't seen Yusei let anyone touch his laptop without permission. It was almost an unspoken rule he was the only one aloud to lay a finger on it and he never left it anywhere where anyone else would be tempted or need to.

Judai raised an eyebrow at her but shrugged it off. "It's not a big deal. I was just trying to get his attention, so that he would listen to me and get some sleep for a change."

"I think it is. That boy is overprotective of that thing. You're lucky the only thing he did was not talk to you. He may not seem like it, but that boy's got a vengeful streak in him every now and again. Gets it from Jack, I think." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Who gets what from Jack?" Yusei asked, seeming to appear in the room with how quietly he'd entered.

"Good heavens child!" Martha jumped, turning to look back at him in alarm. "Knock before you enter if you're going to be that quiet!" She scolded him. Immediately after though, she was on her feet and pulling him down into a hug.

"I'll go heat up dinner for you," she said warmly, ruffling his hair and vanishing into the kitchen.

Yusei looked a little disoriented, but no worse for ware, seemingly used to this treatment. He watched her go fondly before sitting down on the couch beside Judai. He seemed to melt into it completely, his head back and eyes closed.

Judai thought he looked exhausted, but he really didn't want to argue with him again. All three of them sat and talked until Martha retired for the night, leaving the two boys alone.

"Yusei," Judai started, but he was cut off by the other.

"Don't start this again." Yusei sighed, putting his bowl down on the coffee table. "I'm perfectly fine. You can both stop worrying about me."

"Can we?" Judai asked, folding his arms. "You were up presumably all night last night and you only got an hour of sleep before. You've got bags under your eyes and it took Martha saying your name three times to get you to respond. Besides that, I bet you haven't even realized you've got food on your nose. Don't tell me we can both stop worrying about you when you've given me no reason not to."

Yusei quickly swiped at his nose, looking down in embarrassment. He decided not answering the other was a better tactic than trying to defend himself, but it seemed Judai wasn't as tired as he was last night and Yusei didn't have his laptop to use to avoid him this time either.

"Talk to me Yusei!" Judai demanded. "Come on! Why are you staying up so late? Why won't you sleep?"

Yusei refused to make eye contact with him or speak. If anything, he seemed to be retreating into himself more, which only frustrated the brunette more.

"You know what? Fine. Duel me." Judai snapped.

"What?" Finally. A reaction.

"You heard me." Judai wasn't playing around anymore. He pulled out his deck and sat down so he was on the other end of the coffee table from Yusei. "Duel me. If I win, you sleep. If you win, I'll leave you alone about this."

Judai watched Yusei mull over the proposition and weigh his options, anxiety starting to gnaw at him the longer the other took. Finally, Yusei's shoulders dropped and Judai's hopes soared when the other pulled out his deck as well.

"Alright!" Judai cheered, immediately beginning to shuffle his deck. It had been forever since he dueled, and he really couldn't wait to get his game on even if it was only because he was trying to get Yusei to listen to him.

Judai forgot how much you could learn about your opponent when you dueled them. Each one of Yusei's moves was carefully calculated and executed in such a way that nothing went to waste. Everything had a use for him whether or not it seemed apparent in the beginning. It almost seemed like the sleep deprivation he thought the other was suffering from was nonexistent up until Yusei finally made a critical error.

 _I've got you now._ Judai thought to himself, placing down the final card that would end the duel.

"And that's game," he declared in triumph, watching Yusei do the math to reveal his life points had hit 0. "You really had me on a run for my money there."

"I guess so," Yusei agreed, sighing a little as he cleared his field and put all of his cards back together. Judai noticed he put his Stardust on top, just like he liked to put his Kuriboh and Neos on top of his deck.

He almost hated to break the comfortable feeling in the air post duel, but he couldn't let Yusei think he'd forgotten. "Alright, you know the deal. I won. So from now on, you have to have a semi-normal sleep schedule from now on."

Yusei's eyes snapped up to him immediately. "From now on?"

Judai smirked. _Hook, line and sinker._ "Yep. From now on. I said before we started that if I won you would sleep. I never specified how long or whether or not it was just for tonight."

"Then you can't specify it now," Yusei all but growled at him. It wasn't the terrifying, deep growl from last night, but there was still a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Ah ah ah, yes I can. If I don't, then how would you know that I didn't mean for you to just sleep forever now that I've won like some Sleeping Beauty." Judai corrected, knowing he had him right where he wanted him. Maybe Haou was rubbing off on him a little.

Yusei glared a moment more, but he had to admit defeat. He should have been smarter than this and demanded to know the other's terms more clearly before agreeing to the duel in the first place.

"Fine." He huffed, standing up and putting his deck away.

"Thank you," Judai chimed, getting up to follow him back to their room.

For the first time since he'd moved in, Judai wasn't the first one asleep. It seemed Yusei was more tired than he was letting on. The raven was practically out cold the moment his head hit the pillow. At least, he hadn't responded when Judai tried talking to him again, trying to explain he'd only done this because he and Martha were worried.

As the other's slow breathing filled the room with a rhythmic, steady sound, Judai found himself lost in space, just staring at him. Yusei seemed so peaceful and at ease, all the worried lines that usually settled between his brow were smoothed away. He couldn't help but note that he finally looked younger, and more his age. Judai wished he could see Yusei like this while he was awake. He'd almost gotten to this point while they were dueling, but even then, he was way more serious than now.

' _You know, he's pretty cute when he's asleep,'_ Yubel commented, forming just above the sleeping mechanic. They smirked at Judai when they noticed he started to blush. ' _You think so too, huh?'_

 _What? I mean, yeah, of course he is. Everyone is cute asleep._ Judai defended himself, rolling over so his back was facing Yusei and Yubel. A part of him immediately regretted the decision since now all he could look at was the boring wall. He gave it at least a minute or two before turning back over, pouting at Yubel's ever growing smile.

 _Shut up._ He grumbled.

* * *

 **Lunara: Yusei is too stubborn sometimes. Judai's starting to fall already. XD**

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews and Favorites greatly appreciated!**


	3. Let's Explore!

Yusei stretched and yawned, burrowing himself further into the comfort of his pillows, and warmth of his blankets. He tried to find that comfortable position again, the one he could just fall right back to sleep in, but something seemed determined to keep him in this part-conscious, part-unconscious state. Finally giving in to the conscious half, he sat up and ran a hand over his face. It was so bright in his room. Maybe that was why he couldn't fall back asleep. What time was it anyway? There was way too much sunlight in the room for it to be morning. Did he forget to turn off his light again?

Turning to look at the clock on the nightstand that separated his and Judai's bed, he realized there was so much light in the room because it was almost 12 o'clock. That explained a lot. He remembered his client the other night talking about what a beautiful day today was supposed to be.

Yusei blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked over to see Judai still curled up fast asleep. That made sense. He was normally just waking up when he would come by from school to eat lunch…school…

"Shit."

Yusei scrambled out of bed and looked at the clock one more time just to be sure with himself that it really was, in fact, 12 noon, and he was late. He'd entirely missed his first classes, actually. The raven skidded across the floor to the closet and quickly grabbed a clean set of clothes. He started to get dressed as quickly as he could, not really paying much attention to anything other than the fact he was late and needed to get out of there and to school or work or wherever he needed to be as quickly as possible.

"Nng, Yusei?" Judai questioned, sitting up groggily and yawning. All the racket the other was making made it impossible to get those last 5 minutes of sleep. He looked over to the other and froze up completely. A dark flush spread from ear to ear as he watched the other strip almost completely before throwing on a new set of clothes. He'd hardly ever seen the other without his jacket let alone without his shirt. The toned muscles and scars that riddled his hands and back caught him off guard and it took Yubel appearing next to Yusei with a warning look to realize he was staring.

"I-I'm sorry!" He quickly cried out, throwing himself back into his pillow face down to hide his embarrassment.

Yusei jumped hearing the other. He'd completely forgotten Judai was there at all, and it was his turn to flush a little. He hadn't meant to make the other uncomfortable. In all honestly, he'd gone blind to his appearance. He didn't like to think about it most times. "N-No, I'm sorry. I'm late. I have to get going."

He grabbed his bag and ran out into the kitchen, nearly running into Martha in his rush.

"Yusei!" She protested, stepping out of his way. The older woman put her hands on her hips and frowned at the other in that mothering, demanding way she had. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I woke up late, I have to-"

"Have to what? It's Saturday." Martha cut in, looking about ready to grab him by his ear for being so reckless.

Yusei paused and stared at his mother figure as his brain processed what she'd just told him. It was Saturday. He didn't have to go to school today. He didn't have to go to work either. All this panic was for nothing. He was honestly about to laugh at himself when the toaster popping made him jump out of his skin. He stared at the toast in alarm instead, mind still in a frazzled state of panic.

At least Martha started laughing at him for that, her scolding, angry face gone as quickly as it had come. Judai's laugh was quick to join hers, making Yusei's head whip around to look to the kitchen entrance. His eyes immediately darted down in embarrassment, and he rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason, it was fine for Martha to laugh about this blunder, but Judai laughing felt different and left his ears hot with embarrassment.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep, sweetheart," Martha joked, reaching over and patting his shoulder, bringing him back to himself.

Yusei shook his head, "I think I slept too much honestly." He confessed. "I need to get back to work. I have-"

"Oh no you don't." Judai interjected, going over and slinging his arm around the other's shoulders. "You're not even going to _look_ at a textbook today. Today, you're going to show me around."

Yusei felt a shiver run up his spine at the sudden close contact with the other. He was still getting used to how physically affectionate Judai liked to be compared to everyone else in his life. Even Martha reserved hugs for special events like when they hadn't seen each other in a long time or Yusei was admittedly falling to pieces. He carefully shrugged out from under the other and gave him a confused look.

"Show you around? What do you mean?" He asked.

Judai looked almost heartbroken, and Yusei feared he might have forgotten something important to the other. "Yusei! I've been here almost a _month_ and I still haven't been anywhere but here and to the store with Martha." Judai complained, pouting at him.

Oh, so that's what this was about. Yusei hadn't forgotten something. That was good.

"N-Nothing's been stopping you from exploring, Judai. Why do you want me to show you around?" Yusei tried to dodge. He really wanted to get his work done now, rather than later.

"Yusei, knock it off and take a day off. You have all day tomorrow to take care of whatever you want. You need a break. You haven't even gone out with Crow lately." Martha insisted, once more taking on a scolding tone that left the mechanic little room to argue with.

Yusei's shoulders dropped in defeat, and he looked between them at a loss. The teenager shook his head and sighed, finally looking to Judai. He supposed he did owe him at least this much. Judai was misplaced in time. All of his friends were in their late 40s if not early 50s, so it wasn't as though he could go hang out with them or ask them to show him around. In all honesty, they'd probably be alarmed to see that he hadn't aged at all if he went and saw them.

"Alright, alright. Let's go after we eat." Yusei conceded.

"Yes!" Judai's childlike cheer brightened the room immediately.

Yusei gave a small smile in response and went back to fixing himself and the others something to eat for a sort of brunch with how late they were eating. He had to shoo Judai out of the kitchen a couple times as the other tried to snag or steal food while he was making it.

After they ate, the two bid Martha farewell and went out into the garage. Yusei threw a helmet to Judai and put on his own. He figured his motorcycle was going to be the fastest and easiest way to get around town.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked the other while he got on his bike.

"Everywhere!" Judai chimed, slipping onto the bike behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist as naturally as if they did this all the time.

Yusei pulled out and started down the street towards town, not minding the other's closeness this time. It was safer for him this way. "You're going to have to be more specific than that. I can't show you everything in one day."

Yusei held a certain pride about the city, especially since he had played an instrumental part in designing the way Neo Domino would connect with the Satellite and erase their boundaries. There was still animosity here and there, but that was to be expected. Change couldn't happen all at once. Still, it was more progress than he ever thought he'd see in his lifetime, and he was proud that a lot of it was because of his and his friends' efforts.

"Yusei," Judai called to him. "Hey, are you spacing out? That's not safe while driving, you know."

"I-I'm fine," Yusei cut in, rolling his eyes. "So, did you decide where you wanted to go first?"

"Geez, you really weren't listening to me." Judai huffed, dramatically laying his head on Yusei's back. "I was telling you I wanted you to pick your favorite place and we'd go from there."

Judai would leave out for now that he'd also decided to randomly say things like 'your hair looks like a crab died on your head' and 'oh look there goes a stop sign' when he was sure the other wasn't listening to him. As much fun as it would have been to hear Yusei's reactions to his banter, he wasn't so sure he should repeat himself when the other was driving.

"If you're sure," Yusei sighed and took a turn onto the highway which would lead them out of town. Ironically enough, his favorite place in town was just on the border. He loved the hills and cliffsides up there where you could see the entire city. It was much prettier at night in his opinion, but Judai said he wanted to start there. Maybe they could go back later and Yusei could show Judai Neo Domino's real beauty.

He pulled over into the grass once they'd reached his favorite overlook and parked. The wind was gentle today, making it rather pleasant up there. Yusei got off after Judai did and put his helmet on his bike. He walked over to the ledge and rested his arms on the railing.

"Woah!" Judai ran over excitedly, breaking the peaceful atmosphere with his hyper enthusiasm. "You can see the whole city from here! Yusei, this is beautiful!"

"It is," came the other's quiet reply.

He looked over at the mechanic whose gaze seemed to only be for the advanced and flourishing city bellow. Judai really couldn't blame him. It was gorgeous down there. He watched Yusei's normally stoic expression soften with an almost prideful look a father would give their child, and Judai couldn't help but snicker at the thought. Even though he was only younger by a year, it amused Judai that Yusei could look so much older than what he was. He wished he could get Yusei to act more his age every now and again, though. It would be a nice change of pace in his opinion.

That settled it. Judai's new goal for the day would be to get Yusei to behave like any normal teenager.

"Yusei, are there any arcades around here?" Judai asked, figuring it was kind of a dumb question, but he still wanted to ask.

Yusei's brow furrowed and he frowned a little in thought, "I think there is, but I'm not exactly sure where it is. I've heard some of my classmates and Rua and Ruka used to talk about one."

Judai just stared blankly at Yusei. He didn't even know where the arcade was. "Yusei… Do you know what an arcade is?"

"Of course I do," Yusei huffed at him. He might have been sheltered growing up in the Satellite, but Jack was sure to explain to him and Crow what arcades were when they were all reunited and friends again. He just hadn't gotten around to taking any of them to one before something or another got in their way, be it someone kidnapping Yusei or the entire world trying to end.

Judai looked completely lost for words, but he was quickly back to smiling brighter than the sun. He clasped a hand on Yusei's shoulder, remembering how the other had shied away earlier. "Then let's go find it and have some fun!"

"Alright, alright," Yusei gave in and walked back towards his bike, waiting for Judai.

It took about 20 minutes for them to even find the arcade, but once they arrived, Judai was off the bike and inside faster than Yusei could even park. He would have scolded the other for being reckless, but Judai was out of sight.

He found Judai waiting for him at the counter, all smiles.

"Yusei, over here. We have to buy tokens first to be able to play the games." He informed him, gesturing to the prices above.

Yusei looked them over before picking the middle package, that way they could split the tokens 50/50 and still have a sizable amount. He handed half the cheaply made golden coins to Judai and followed him into the arcade. It was a bit stuffy and loud, but there was a wide array of games all around them ranging from pinball to Left for Dead.

There were so many people milling around and talking, it was hard to hear anything, and the air was rather thick and hot. All a bit overwhelming for the introverted mechanic, and he found a part of him was beginning to wonder if this really was such a good idea.

"This way," Judai said into his ear from behind, taking his wrist and leading him off into a more spacious, out of the way corner were few people were congregating. "There we go."

Yusei took a breath of relief, casting a grateful look to his friend before looking over the arcade from this new, safe distance.

"What kind of games should we play first?" He asked after a moment. He was glad there were several multiplayer games that seemed interesting.

"Oo! How about that motorcycle one? I bet I can beat you." Judai challenged, gesturing to the game in question.

Yusei raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. "Considering it appears I'm the only one with real experience driving on, I'm pretty sure I would win, Judai."

"Game on then," Judai grinned, walking with him back into the throngs to get to their destination and wait their turn.

Yusei would admit they did look a little out of place as they were probably the oldest people there, but he couldn't bring himself to care too much. There wasn't an age limit specified on anything.

The motorcycle game turned out to be nothing like driving an actual motorcycle and Judai beat him rather soundly the first two or three times they played. Yusei got the hang of it after that though, and Judai quickly decided it was best to switch over to a different game.

"Man, you're ruthless," Judai laughed brightly as they went through a few others.

Yusei found he was rather good at the shooting games. Maybe it had something to do with when he and the others were part of the Enforcers and had to shoot their hooks out to grapple other people's duel disks.

"I don't know about that. You're not too bad at these yourself." Yusei assured. So far, they were tied wins to loses over every game they'd played. Judai seemed insistent on everything being a challenge, and Yusei went along with it. The other seemed happy enough and he was beginning to enjoy himself as well.

"Oh my god you still have that?!" Judai suddenly grabbed Yusei's wrist and dragging him up onto a stage platform game. "Dance with me, Yusei!"

Yusei glanced over at the screen to try and figure out what Judai was talking about. "I-I don't know about this one, Judai."

"Pleeeaase? It's super easy. It's just a rhythm game. You tap the arrows with your feet when they line up with the bottom area. See?" Judai pointed to the demo playing before giving Yusei the biggest puppy eyes he could muster. "Come on? Just one song?"

How was he supposed to say no? There were already people staring and telling them to either play or move so others could.

"Alright," Yusei sighed a little and stepped over to where his set of arrows were, letting Judai get the game set up.

"Yes!"

Judai put their last coins in and scrolled through the songs until he found something that sounded fun. There obviously wasn't anything he recognized, but he made sure he could see Yusei's expression in his peripheral and chose a song that the other appeared to like.

Yusei would never again trust Judai when he said a game was easy. There was a timing lag between when his foot would touch the arrows and when it would register on the screen, not to mention there were several combinations of multiple arrows that flew by faster than he could really process them for trying to figure out the game. Judai, on the other hand, seemed to understand it completely, dancing freely and hitting the arrow with confusing ease. He would admit though, that it was a lot of fun, especially when he started to get the hang of it.

Judai looked over at Yusei during their last song, smiling at how carefree the other looked. Yusei's eyes were fixed on the game screen in front of him, and he would put money on the fact Yusei was probably mentally calculating the timing for everything down to the last detail. He was glad the other finally seemed to have something other than school on his mind. Again, he found himself entranced, just staring at the other to the point he lost this final round.

Both of them were exhausted and panting when the song ended, and they each jumped when people around them started clapping. Judai looked behind to find they'd drawn a bit of a crowd with their skill at the game, and he saw Yusei do the same next to him. The blush that spread across the other's cheeks made Judai's heart skip a beat. He didn't think Yusei would be bashful over something like this.

"Come on," Judai encouraged, guiding him away from the game and back outside. "That was fun~"

Yusei nodded, looking around himself as if he were surprised it was already getting close to sundown. Time had seemed almost nonexistent while they were inside the arcade. Apparently, what he perceived as an hour or two, turned out to be several. Brunch seemed so long ago now that he realized what time it was. Maybe they should go find somewhere to eat or go back to Martha's.

"Man, I'm hungry," Judai complaining, voicing Yusei's thoughts as he thought them.

"We could find somewhere to eat," Yusei offered, going back to his bike.

"Yes please," Judai chimed and settled in behind him once more. "So, Yusei. When do you think I get to learn how to drive one of these things?" He asked after they were on the road again.

"You? Drive a D-wheel?" Yusei asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. Just the thought of Judai even owning one for some reason seemed very out of place. "I don't know how well that would end."

"Aw, come on! I creamed you on that game." Judai pointed out.

"Driving a real one is very different than that game," Yusei pointed out. "What do you want to eat?"

"Honestly, I could really go for a burger and some fries. Oo! Or maybe pizza!" Judai started rambling about several varieties of junk food he felt like eating or that sounded good to him.

Yusei personally didn't too much care of half of what he was talking about. It all was usually pretty greasy and left a heavy feeling in his stomach, but Jack had at least taken him to one burger joint that hadn't made him want to throw up, so he figured that might as well do.

He listened absentmindedly while Judai rambled about this that and the other. Yusei couldn't really bring himself to pay too much attention, far too lost in his own thoughts. It was hard to believe the other had been there for over a month. He'd honestly expected Judai to just come to visit him in his time before returning to his era, but it didn't seem like Judai had any ambitions to do so just yet. It almost felt like he was wanting to stay by the way he brushed off being much younger than his friends. That part still bothered him, since friends were meant to be treasured, but at the same time, he didn't exactly want Judai to go back either. The excitable brunette had already pointed out that if anything was going to happen with the timeline due to his being here instead of in the past, it would have happened by now or they would have noticed something amiss. It didn't save Yusei from worrying though. It might not be an immediate effect like with Paradox, but what if it were delayed?

"Yusei? Yuuuuseeeeiii!" Judai squeezing him from behind brought him back out of his thoughts and he realized he had already parked in front of the burger place. "Geez, dude, do you space out like that all the time when you're driving? That can't be safe. What if you didn't notice something and got into a wreck?"

"I'm sorry," Yusei glanced back at him, surprised to find he actually looked pretty concerned about him. "J-Judai…It's fine, I swear. I don't space out like this every time I'm driving, though I admit I do often drive when I need some space to think."

The other still fixed him with an unreadable gaze for a moment longer before reverting back to his usual bubbly self.

"Alright, if you swear it's not all the time," Judai gave in and got off so the other could follow him.

They each went in and ordered their food. Yusei ate quietly while Judai chattered on again. This time he made an effort to actually listen and pay full attention to what the other was talking about, occasionally taking a break from eating to comment or add to the conversation. It seemed Judai just wanted to talk about his adventures around the world before he got there. It was hard to believe the other had been able to go out and see so much in the span of a couple years.

"Honestly, Yusei, it's so beautiful out there!" He said after relaying a story of his first night in Italy before Paradox. "The culture is so rich out there."

Yusei smiled and tried to picture everything Judai was describing to him. Traveling the world sounded like a far away dream, and it was something he'd never dared to allow himself to hope for. It just wasn't something a kid from the Satellite had time to dream of.

"Thanks for today, Yusei," Judai said after a moment of silence, taking a sip of his milkshake. "I'll have to pay you back somehow."

Yusei shook his head, "There's no need, Judai. This…This was actually really fun. I've enjoyed myself."

Judai smiled. He'd achieved his goal. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun, but I still want to pay you back for all of this. Come on, please let me one day?"

Yusei could already tell he'd be fighting a losing battle if he continued to try to argue against Judai, so he decided not to answer him. At least then the other couldn't tell him that he'd said he would let him pay him back.

They drove back home after they were done eating and got ready for bed. Yusei sighed as he got back into their room after a shower, his towel still draped around his shoulders. He looked over at Judai, already passed out on top of his bed, and smiled fondly at the other's snoring. It seemed Judai'd worn himself out today.

"You should at least get into bed before falling asleep…" He chided softly, grabbing a blanket and draping it over him.

He laid down in his own bed and curled up with a yawn. He had a lot of work to get done tomorrow, but after today, he decided it really could wait until tomorrow. A part of him was upset he hadn't been able to take Judai back up to the cliffs to see the city at night, but something told him he'd get another chance and it would be well worth the wait.

* * *

 **Lunara: Yay, they had fun~ I haven't been able to write like this in forever. I really hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am.**

 **Thank you for reading! Favorites and reviews greatly appreciated!**


	4. Getting Better, All the Time

Saturdays quickly started becoming Yusei's favorite day. He and Judai had made a habit of going out together and exploring Neo Domino, and Crow would even join them whenever he could.

"You're looking great, Yusei," Aki praised from the other side of the screen. "For awhile there, I thought I was going to have to _order_ you to get out of the house."

Yusei smiled to her in amusement, "Well then, I'm glad it didn't come to that. There's no getting around your orders." He thought about the last time he challenged her, thinking she couldn't get to him from Germany. He was wrong. So, so wrong.

"You're right. So, remember to take care of yourself." She teased.

"You're just as bad as Martha," he sighed, tinkering with a broken desk clock on his bed. He had to take out his desk to make room for Judai's bed, so now he just worked there with a towel to protect his blankets.

Judai could hear Yusei talking upstairs when he and Martha returned from grocery shopping. He thought he might be talking to Crow, but, if he remembered correctly, Crow worked today and thus couldn't hang out or have time to call and chat. His curiosity was piqued when he heard Yusei _laugh._ It was such a rare sound that even seemed to get Martha's attention.

The brunette quickly helped put things away before sneaking down the hall as quietly as he could towards the happy chatter. Poking his head in, he saw Yusei sitting on his bed with his laptop in front of him and working on something. He heard a woman talking, and Yusei's eyes were bright.

"-the leg twitched and she screamed." It sounded like she was telling a story or something, either way it drew another laugh from Yusei.

"What happened?" He asked, oblivious to Judai's appearance.

"I found a tendon," the woman said simply, laughing herself.

Judai couldn't help himself, he straightened up a little and knocked on the door frame. "Yusei, who are you talking to?" He asked, tilting his head at the other.

Yusei jumped a little and looked up at Judai. "O-Oh, Judai, you're back earlier than I thought you'd be."

"We have been talking almost 2 hours," the female voice commented.

Yusei glanced at the screen as if to confirm this for himself before returning his attention to the other. "Judai, this is Aki. She's in Germany right now studying medicine."

Judai came over and poked his head over Yusei's shoulder to look at the screen, immediately recognizing the girl as the one in Yusei's picture from the WRGP. "Hi! The name's Judai Yuki."

The newly dubbed Aki smiled warmly at him and introduced herself as well. "So, this is the guy you were telling me about, Yusei?"

Yusei nodded and turned his laptop a bit so that Judai could be seen without having to awkwardly stand behind him.

"Well then, I owe you my thanks for getting Yusei out of the house and away from his computer, Judai," Aki said, putting some papers away in a folder. "He can get a little absorbed into whatever he's working on and forget there are other things important to life, like food and relaxing."

"O-Oh, well, you're welcome. Glad I could help." Judai laughed nervously.

Yusei flushed a little in embarrassment as Aki talked about him like this, "Aki…"

She laughed a little and smiled at him, "I know, I know. I have to go now, Yusei. It's really late…or rather really early here. I'll call you some other time, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Aki."

Judai watched Yusei stare at the screen until it went blank and the video chat main screen reappeared. His shoulders seemed to drop the moment she was gone, and a long sigh escaped him, making it look like he was wilting as he closed the laptop and looked down at the clock in his lap.

"Yusei," Judai spoke up after a few minutes, unable to keep quiet about how down the other looked now compared to when he was laughing with Aki. "You miss your friends, don't you?"

Yusei looked up at him as if he'd been lost in his own thoughts, which he probably had been. He stared at Judai a few minutes like he was trying to figure out what the other had said before it clicked, and he turned his focus back onto the clock. Judai was about to pester him for answers when he finally spoke up.

"I do. We all miss each other. At least, I like to think they miss me too." He explained, glancing at the picture on the nightstand. "Don't you miss your friends from your time, Judai?"

Judai really hadn't been prepared to answer that one. Of course, he missed them, but as far as he'd been able to research, none of them were dead. In fact, it seemed they'd all lived nice and fulfilling lives. "Well, I mean, yeah I do."

"Are you going to go back?" Yusei asked, still not looking up from his work.

This question also caught Judai off guard. He'd been trying to get Yusei to open up to him, not the other way around. Still, he wondered how he should answer. Originally, he'd planned just to hang out for a week, maybe, then head back, but obviously two months later, that hadn't happened.

"I…I don't really now," he admitted, shrugging. "I guess I just figured I'd see how things went. I mean, there haven't been any negative effects on either of our timelines or my friends with me being here, so I guess there's no rush to make a decision or anything."

"No, I guess not," Yusei didn't look all that pleased with his answer.

Judai's eyebrows furrowed. What more was he supposed to say, and why did it seem that he upset the other whenever they talked about his being in this time? He couldn't think of anything wrong with what he said or how he answered the other whenever Yusei would ask, and he was getting a little sick and tired of how the other reacted.

"You know, if you want me to go back to my own time, you should just say it," Judai sighed after a long stretch of silence. This got a reaction out of him. Yusei froze up almost completely, and he even put the clock down. "Go on. Say it. You always get into a huffy mood whenever _you_ bring this up."

"Judai, I-"

It was the first time he'd ever seen the other completely speechless. He looked like he was struggling to arrange his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say, and Judai really didn't have the patience for it. He didn't want a carefully thought out and planned response. He wanted what the other really thought. What he could already read on his face.

"Fine." Judai stood up and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. He didn't even say goodbye as he walked out of the room and out the front door, leaving Yusei behind to stare after him. He'd only made it to the end of the driveway though before a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Judai, wait!" Yusei yelled, looking about as frazzled as he sounded.

Judai paused and looked over his shoulder at him. He waited quietly for the other to explain himself, though he could already tell what he was going to say by the way he was gripping onto his wrist. It almost made him smile.

"I…I don't want you to go back to your time." He continued, hesitantly letting go of Judai in favor of stepping back. He himself hated unexpected physical contact, so he was a bit ashamed of himself for grabbing onto the other like that. Yusei's eyes remained fixed on the ground now that he wasn't worried the other was going to keep walking. "I don't want you to regret being here instead of being in your time with your friends. My friends are just miles away from me and I miss them terribly. I couldn't imagine being _years_ apart from them."

"Yusei, did you ever consider you're my friend too?" He turned around fully and smiled at the other. "Or that maybe I might _want_ to stay here?"

Now it was Judai's turn to pause. He thought over what he'd just said. Earlier, he wasn't sure why he was still here. He'd been dodging around the idea for awhile now, but saying it out loud… It solidified it. He really did want to stay here, in Neo Domino with Yusei.

"Come on man, it's not like my friends are gone or I can't go see them. Heck, I could probably just write them letters and they'll be fine." Judai continued, rather pleased with his revelation.

Yusei just looked conflicted. "I…"

"Your friends are like your family. I get it. Mine are too." He started to explain, trying to think of a way to word all of this so it would make sense to the other. "They're always in my heart, and if I'm perfectly honest, Yusei, I doubt they'd be surprised if I flat out told them I traveled into the future to hang out with you and decided to stay because you're really cool and I want to get to know you better. So, stop worrying about me and whether or not I'm heading back. Okay?"

Yusei watched him for a long while before finally giving in and nodding. "Okay."

"Perfect! Now, let me go put my bag up and we can head out. It's Saturday, remember?" Judai chimed happily, running past the other back into the house without letting him get another word in.

When he got back outside, Yusei was already seated on his bike waiting for him. He could feel how tense the other still was when he sat down behind him. Judai hoped that Saturday would work its usual magic and unwind the mechanic before too much longer. He wanted Yusei to go back to laughing and smiling like he had been earlier when he was talking to Aki.

"Hey, Yusei, why don't we go to a park or something?" He offered. "I've got some energy to burn, and we could duel each other if you want."

"You're not going to make another endless wager, are you?" Yusei asked, a bit apprehensive. "Forcing me to have a sleep schedule is bad enough."

"I don't know. Do you have any other unhealthy habits that need forcibly broken?" Judai laughed, trying to loosen the tense air from earlier. All he got in reply was a shake of the other's head and what he assumed was an eye roll he couldn't see.

The tension did seem to be dissipating between them the longer they drove, however. Maybe it wasn't so much their adventures on Saturday that helped Yusei relax so much as it was how much time he spent driving them here and there?

Yusei pulled up to the park and searched for a little bit to find a place to park his d-wheel. For some reason, he'd chosen some out of the way spot in the shade of a tree. The shade made sense, but the location really didn't.

"Why are we all the way over here? Wouldn't it be better to park in the actual parking lot?" Judai asked.

Yusei shook his head. "It's better over here, trust me."

"If you say so," he sighed, looking around the park with a smile.

It was a nice and sunny spring day, so there were lots of people milling around with children, pets or friends, but it wasn't so crowded that you couldn't sit down or find a private place for yourself.

"Let's go find a place to duel!" Judai could hardly contain himself. He took off into the park, letting Yusei trail behind him.

They settled down by a large tree where they could choose to either sit in the shade or the sunlight without going too far and started their match. Yusei had requested not to use duel disks and just play the old tabletop way, so their disks just became card holders that way the gentle breeze wouldn't destroy their game like a dusk tornado.

"Damn, you're a lot stronger when you're not tired," Judai laughed nervously as they neared the end of their third game. It was supposed to be a tie breaker, and at the moment it didn't look like he was going to be able to pull this one off.

Yusei only smiled at him and waited quietly for his turn. He played the psychological aspect of the game just as well as he played it, and Judai swore Yusei knew his silence was unnerving him and making him second guess his every move.

"…and that's game," Yusei finally spoke up, grinning with satisfaction as he watched Judai do the math and realize his lifepoints had struck zero.

"Man! I almost had you!" Judai laughed, clearing up his cards. "I guess that means you win this round."

Yusei made a noise of agreement while he cleaned up as well, leaning back and laying down in the grass once everything was put away. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun for a long while until he realized that Judai had fallen silent. He opened one of his eyes to look over at the other and question him on what was wrong, but he just found Judai staring at him.

"I-Is there something on my face?" He asked nervously. Judai looked a little red, and he started to wonder if he was getting sick. Sitting up, Yusei took off his glove and pressed the back of his hand to his own forehead before putting it up against Judai's. The way Judai recoiled from his hand, he'd have thought he struck him.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked, leaning back away from him himself.

"I-I'm fine, I promise!" The brunette yelped, turning an even darker shade of red. "It's nothing!"

"Are you sure? If you want to go home, we can." Yusei offered, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

"What? No. I want to stay here. Like I said, I'm fine, Yusei." Judai spoke way too quickly and shook his head. He bit at his lip, willing the heat in his face to die down a little. He looked away from Yusei in hopes that would help a bit in time to see a boy running towards them.

"Hey! Y-You're Yusei right? Yusei Fudo from the WRGP tournament?" The boy asked excitedly when he reached them. He held out a pen and a blank duel monster's card. "C-Could you sign this for me?"

Yusei's attention broke away from Judai and his frown was quickly replaced with a gentle smile.

"S-Sure," he accepted the card and pen, signing it as promised and returned it to the child.

"You're my hero!" The boy blurted out, clutching the card to his chest.

"James?! What do you think you're doing? Get away from him!" A shrill cry shattered the happy mood immediately as both Yusei and the boy looked over to the angry mother fearfully. "I already told you no. He's a criminal."

Judai watched Yusei visibly flinch and almost recoil from her as she came over and dragged her son back. He didn't even hesitate to jump to his feet and put himself between the mechanic and the woman, doing his best to hold back from glaring at her.

"What do you mean, he's a criminal?" Judai asked innocently, his eyes flickering gold and green. "Yusei hasn't done anything wrong. All he did was sign a card for your kid."

"Hasn't done anything wrong? Can't you see the yellow mark on his face? He's even _branded_ to warn others of his crimes." She continued to protest, shooting an accusing look over Judai's shoulder at Yusei.

"You don't even know him, how can you-"

"Judai. Stop." Yusei's hand on his shoulder broke Judai's concentration away from the woman. Though his tone sounded calm an pleasant, his eyes showed there was no room for arguing. "We should go."

"But-"

"We're leaving." He reiterated, looking to the woman with a patient smile. "I'm sorry for speaking with your son without permission."

With that, he turned and left, walking back towards where he parked. Judai glanced between them, as lost as the now stunned mother. He let out a frustrated growl then stuck his tongue out at the woman before following after Yusei.

"I'm sorry," Yusei sighed when Judai caught up with him, getting onto his bike. "I should have told you sooner."

"None of that was your fault, Yusei," Judai grumbled, crossing his arms. "What was she talking about anyway?"

"Not here," he cut in, giving Judai his helmet. "Get on. I'll explain elsewhere."

This time, not even the drive up to the cliffs helped Yusei relax. He was stiff as a rock the entire way, and every mile, Judai heard nothing besides Yubel cursing that woman for being so shallow-minded and cruel. He agreed with them to an extent, but now that he was cooling off, he figured she had had a valid reason to react the way she did. She'd said Yusei was a branded criminal. If he'd seen a kid talking to someone he knew was bad news, he probably would have tried to get them away from them too.

' _Still. She judged him by a mark on his face. That's not right.'_ Yubel grumbled.

 _Not much we can do about that now…_ Judai returned, resting his head up against Yusei's back as he watched the city start to pull away as they travelled from it.

When they pulled over in the usual spot, Judai hopped off and waited for Yusei who took his time. The other didn't say a single word as he walked past Judai and went to the railing, leaning on it and looking out over the city. Judai waited for him to start explaining, but it was quickly becoming apparent the other didn't seem to have any intention of doing so. He followed Yusei over to the railing and waited.

"Neo Domino's gotten a lot better than it used to be." Yusei finally said after a few minutes passed. "Before, the people were completely divided. There were those that lived in Satellite, a manmade island after the Zero Reverse disaster and those who lived on the mainland. Satellite became the lowest class, working in squalor for what little they would allot us.

After Godwin was defeated, I helped with the plans that built the roads you can see connecting Satellite to Neo Domino, finally bridging the gap between them physically. As you saw though, there are still some issues with the gap in the peoples' hearts. Change like this isn't easy for everyone."

"Yusei…" Judai could hardly believe someone could look so determined and sad all at the same time.

"There are still 'no Satellite' buildings, jobs are selective and there are those in Satellite that are still resentful as well," he continued, starting to smile a bit. "But it's better than it used to be 2 years ago."

"I guess…As long as it's getting better." Judai sighed, shrugging a little. "I still don't understand why she treated you that way though. She said you were branded. What did she mean?"

Yusei turned to give him an incredulous look, like he was baffled the other hadn't made some kind of connection.

"What? What's with that look?" Judai protested, grumbling at him.

The raven smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. What she meant was this." Yusei pointed to the mark on his face. "Anyone who's arrested and sent to the facility is branded with a mark like this. It has a tracker in it with a chip that holds a copy of that person's permanent record."

Judai had honestly thought the mark was some kind of fancy tattoo. Now that Yusei pointed out what it really meant, he couldn't help but lean in close and investigate it a little closer. It was hard to tell the difference between it and the rest of his skin other than the coloration and faint scarring on the edges. Lost in his own curiosity, he reached up and brushed his finger over the mark, tracing it. It was smoother than his skin, but that was about all he could tell before Yusei flinched away from him. Apparently touching that was a no.

"They really fit so much into a tattoo?" He asked, still looking at it though he kept a bit of distance this time.

"Y-Yeah, they did," Yusei muttered, doing his best not to cover the mark somehow like he normally would. He knew by now that it was better to satisfy the brunette's curiosity lest Judai do something to satisfy himself, and he really didn't want to wake up to Judai staring at him in the middle of the night.

Judai looked over his friend. He could tell Yusei was trying to keep as much as he could veiled behind a poker face, but his eyes gave everything away. A soft sigh left him and he stepped forward slowly, trying to make his movements predictable. He wrapped his arms around Yusei, immediately feeling him stiffen. Judai honestly thought he was about to squirm away when a pair of arms timidly wrapped around him as well.

"I'm sorry, Yusei." He whispered to the other once he was sure Yusei really wasn't going to pull away. "I know it's not my fault, but I'm still sorry that all that happened. I'm glad it's getting better."

He felt Yusei press into him and he tightened his grip accordingly. Judai really didn't expect Yusei to say anything. He just hoped that what he was doing was okay, and that it was helping him.

"Come on, why don't we hang out up here for a while?" Judai asked, remembering how happy just sitting up here made Yusei that first Saturday they'd ventured out.

Yusei nodded and drew back, but Judai had been so warm, he almost immediately regretted the decision. He hadn't expected the other to hug him to begin with, but it hadn't been disagreeable either. Maybe he was touch starved, but it had felt so nice and safe compared to where his mind had wandered remembering the path he'd been forced to take to get Neo Domino where it was now.

He looked to Judai and managed a small smile. Had the other's eyes always been so bright and pure?

* * *

 **Lunara: Sorry this took so long this time. I got a little stuck on where I wanted to go. It's so hard not to just write them as a couple already. XD  
**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Will write for reviews ;-;**


	5. Open Up a Little For Me

The pair sat on the cliffs until the sun started to set, turning the sky a vibrant gradient of red to blue. For the most part, they were silent, each just watching the world bellow them.

"I used to sit on the roof every night and wish on the first star I saw for wings," Yusei admitted, looking up at the sky as it continued to darken.

"Wings? Like, bird wings to fly? Chicken wings to eat?" Judai teased and laughed a bit at the thought of each idea. His favorite was probably the combined mental image of a tiny Yusei with fried chicken wing wings.

"Wings to fly," Yusei clarified. His eyes sparkled in amusement as he looked at Judai with a look that said he knew exactly what the other was thinking. "All I wanted was to be able to fly. I thought if I did that, I would be able to fly Martha and all the others to Neo Domino city, and all of us would live some kind of happily ever after. Pretty silly, right?"

Judai shook his head and smiled warmly at him. He didn't know what suddenly inspired Yusei to open up to him about something like this, but he wasn't complaining. He would take anything new he could learn about the other. Yusei was such a closed book, Judai viewed each new fact like buried treasure.

"Not at all," Judai said in conformation, hoping Yusei would continue. "I used to wish on the first star I saw for the ability to become the best duelist in the world. It worked for me… so, are you hiding any wings under that jacket?"

Trying to add to his humor, Judai leaned back and stared at Yusei's back expectantly and earned a bright laugh and a playful shove as his reward.

"Hey," he protested, laughing with the other. "So, that's a no?"

"Judai," Yusei shook his head and turned his attention back to the sky. He leaned back, letting his eyes wander as he laid down. "I never sprouted wings, but I think my wish still came true. My friends and family are happy, and Satellite and Neo Domino are joined."

"What do you wish for now?" Judai asked, laying down beside him and looking up at the sky as well. "You can I both got our wishes. We should start new dreams. Right here."

He looked over at Yusei, expecting him to turn him down or regard him as childish, but instead it looked like he was honestly thinking about his proposal. Deep blue eyes he found himself lost in more and more as of late were focused on the sky above them and his eyebrows were knit together. He couldn't really see Yusei as the hardened criminal he supposedly was supposed to be. Especially not now that he knew the other wished on stars about as seriously as he did.

"It may be silly, but I wish to be happy," Yusei finally said, turning to look at Judai.

"You're not happy?" Judai asked, confused by what the other meant. Yusei seemed happy enough to him.

"No, no, I am. I just mean… I want to be content. There. I wish I was content." He tried to clarify. "Right now, there are so many things I want and need to do to achieve my goals. I just want to one day be in a position where… I'm happy where I'm at. Whether that's with a special someone or having the job I dream about now. Both would be nice."

"…Special someone, huh?" Judai turned his gaze to the sky to avoid looking at the other. He had to pick his words carefully. If he messed up, it might give Yusei the wrong impression. "Do you mean Aki? You two seemed pretty close this morning."

 _Stupid stupid stupid!_ Judai reprimanded himself almost the exact moment the words left his lips.

He didn't quite understand why he felt his own heart sink as what he said sunk in and he made the connections. Yusei and Aki were always standing close in all the pictures he'd seen of them, and Yusei often spoke fondly of her whenever she was brought up. Of course, they would be dating or together somehow. The realization upset him more than he expected.

He knew he thought Yusei was attractive. How could he not? Yusei was smart, strong and he had this mysterious dark past. Honestly, he was practically everyone's dream. Still, Judai shouldn't have thought he stood a chance. He'd seen the pictures, heard the others talk. Yusei and Aki were practically a match made in heaven.

"Not at all, Aki and I are just close friends,"

Judai froze completely, his mind drawing a complete blank as he processed what the other said. He and Aki were just…friends?

"You don't like her?" Judai blurted out. "I mean-like, you don't like like her?!"

Yusei leaned away from him and looked Judai over in surprise. He didn't think what he'd said was really worth this kind of reaction. Was it really that much of a surprise that he and Aki weren't dating? Certainly, they'd both had feelings for each other before, but it hadn't worked out. They both wanted very different things and they each agreed they couldn't start a relationship when she was just about to leave for Germany. After some time, they became more like siblings than anything romantic. Aki had become the big sister he'd never had, and he liked to think she thought of him as a brother.

"No?" Yusei raised an eyebrow at him and waited, expecting Judai to explain himself at the very least.

"S-Sorry, I just always thought there was something more between you two," Judai finally said, laughing a bit and laying down again. "So, what's Yusei's ideal soulmate like?"

"My ideal soulmate?"

"Well, yeah. You said your dream was to be content and maybe with someone special. What do you hope they'll be like?" He clarified, turning to lay on his side instead.

He watched Yusei's eyebrows furrow in thought and could practically see the gears turning as he pieced together his answer.

"I don't really know…Hopefully they're kind and gentle." Yusei offered, shrugging a bit. "I mean, does it really matter what they're like?"

"Yes! What if they're a jerk to you?" Judai countered.

"Then they're probably not my soulmate, Judai." Yusei retorted, laughing softly. "Really though, I don't have any expectations for them. If I had to though, I think I'd like them to be lighthearted like you. It doesn't seem like much of anything gets you down and you always see the lighter side of things. I really admire that about you."

Judai turned away so he wouldn't see his cheeks heat up at that. "There are just too many dark things in the world to not focus on the light."

"Mhmm," Yusei hummed in agreement, sighing softly.

Judai listened to him for a while, staring up at the sky until the chill of the night started to get to him. Rolling back over to face the other, he got up enough to lean on his elbow.

"Hey, Yusei, let's head back. It's getting cold." He complained.

"I agree," Yusei chattered, sitting up and hugging himself. The guy was practically shivering.

"Jesus, Yusei, why didn't you say something sooner?" Judai demanded, sitting up completely and helping the other stand. For as cold as it was starting to feel outside, Yusei seemed to feel 5 degrees colder. "You're really not built for this weather, are you?"

Yusei shook his head, "I'm fine. Let's just get back. The sooner we do, the sooner we can warm up."

With that said, the raven turned to head back towards his bike, but he hadn't even taken a step when something incredibly warm was draped over his shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye he could see red fabric and his cheeks rushed to match the color.

"J-Judai, what are you-what about you?" He demanded, rounding on the other.

"I can't have my driver freeze on me. Just put it on over yours and get us home safe." Judai assured. "Besides, I'll be fine. It's just chilly out."

Yusei started to protest again, but Judai was already walking back and on his bike before he could so much as get a word in edgewise. With a huff, he pulled the jacket tight around him and followed him back. He really didn't dare put it on. Judai, while not a twig, was still skinnier than him and he didn't want to rip his favorite jacket. Or was it his only jacket? He hadn't seen him wear any other one.

He was beginning to wonder how he was supposed to keep it on himself while they drove when Judai's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, securing it at least in that point. No doubt it would flap off his shoulders once they started moving, but it was the thought that counted most to him.

Much to his surprise, the jacket didn't leave his shoulders the entire drive, but then again, that might have had a lot to do with Judai's head resting against his back. He tried not to think too much about it. The other was probably really tired. They'd been out and about all day and talked most of the night away.

"Judai, we're home," he announced pointlessly, turning off the bike and getting off once Judai had.

Yusei was quick to return his jacket to him with a small thank you, and he was even quicker at retreating back into the house where Martha waited with dinner still warm on the stove. How she managed to have such perfect timing was beyond either of them, but the hot meal was great after the cold drive home.

"Dibs on first shower," Judai announced once he was finished eating, grinning up at Yusei.

"Fine, fine," the raven dismissed him with only a slight frown of disapproval. Clearly, he was looking forward to washing the dirt off himself just as much as Judai was.

"Awesome~!" He jumped up excitedly and washed his dishes before racing off to their shared room to get a clean change of clothes.

Once in the bathroom under the warm water, he couldn't help smiling like an idiot. Yusei was single and there was something he really liked about him. Besides that, he'd not only been pretty open with him that night, but he'd let Judai _hug_ him. It was, in many other people's eyes, a small victory, but to him, with Yusei, it was huge.

 _He trusts me! Or at least, he's starting to!_ He thought excitedly, looking up at the familiar trill of his most loyal companion.

"Kuriboh, bud, can you believe it?" He whispered to him, figuring the others would get concerned if they heard him talking to himself like this.

" _Don't get your hopes up too high, Judai,"_ Haou grumbled bitterly from the corner of his mind. As usual, the king was quick to ground him and remind him that his excitement had only gotten him in trouble in the past.

He sighed a bit and let his shoulders drop, shaking his head a little to clear it. He really was acting like a schoolboy, but this was exciting. He wanted to know as much as he could about Yusei, and he'd learned so much tonight. "I know, I know," he muttered, leaning his head back instead.

" _We just don't want to see you hurt, Judai,"_ Yubel's voice spoke up this time, and he could just see the concerned face they would probably be giving him if they had decided to manifest like Kuriboh had. _"I especially don't want to see you hurt."_

Yusei sat out in the living room alone, not wanting to go lay in his bed to wait since he'd been sitting on the ground and laying in the dirt most of the day. Judai honestly couldn't get out of the shower fast enough for him. He wanted to wash all of this off himself. He really hated being dirty like this. Grease and dirt from working on repairs or his d-wheel? That was fine. But dirt from being on the ground or something similar just didn't sit well with him. He hated the feeling.

Mostly though, he just wanted that clear, private space that the shower provided to sort through his head and figure out what exactly had just happened out on the cliff. He hadn't intended to say so much, but Judai was frighteningly easy to talk to. Those kind eyes seemed to pull him in and make it seem like he was allowed to say anything he wanted, and Yusei wanted to pick apart why that might be.

"Yusei, your turn," Judai's call from down the hall snapped him out of his thoughts quickly and Yusei wasted no time in gathering his things and going to go get cleaned up.

* * *

 **Kitana: Sorry for the delay! School really doesn't leave a whole lot of room for writing these days, and it's really only going to get worse. Thank you MusicianWish for reviewing! It honestly meant the world to me to hear that you like what I've written.  
**

 **Thank you so much everyone for reading! Favs, follows and reviews all greatly appreciated!**


	6. Dreaming of the Fair

Yusei stretched out as far he could from his spot on the couch, glancing out the window into the backyard to watch all the kids playing. Martha had shifted from running an orphanage in the Satellite to running a daycare instead once Satellite's orphans were pooled into the overall, Neo Domino system. It seemed less stressful to her, but he knew she missed having the kids around all the time.

What warmed his heart now though was watching Judai outside playing right along with them. The excitable brunette had quickly become their favorite person in the entire world shortly after he'd moved in. Judai was always willing to follow along with their games or just help them come up with new scenarios or things to play.

He never quite got their attention. He was too quiet and disinteresting for them he figured. With a shake of his head, he turned back to his computer and the homework he had displayed across the screen, or rather the 20 tabs and several windows he was working with all for one assignment. It was a bit overwhelming, staring at it and then the notebook beside him which detailed everything else he had to get done that day. It almost seemed like he'd never finish.

And that was where he spent his day. Curled up on the couch with his laptop, several papers and a calculator and pencil. He'd started the semester with so many, but now all he had was one from the floor of his engineering classroom. It was actually far nicer than his other ones, so he felt it was a worthy trade. Many of them for only one of this one.

He wasn't sure when he dozed off, only that when he stirred, it was dark out. He groaned and straightened up a bit, surprised to find something slip off his shoulders. It seemed Martha had draped it over him. Glancing over to check the time, all his mind registered in the dark was a light source from the hall and a dark shadow standing over him.

He immediately tried to scramble away from it, unable to even draw breath. He wasn't sure if it was him screaming or something else. His mind only registered that he had to get away from the shadow and that whatever it was, was a threat. It lunged towards him, grabbing his shoulders and this time he heard himself shriek. Yusei shook his head and grabbed the wrists of the shadow, trying to pry them off himself.

"NO! Let me go!" He yelled, thrashing beneath it and trying to kick or punch it away.

"Yusei! Hey, listen! It's me! Knock it off, you're going to hurt yourself!" A distorted voice yelled back.

The shadow let go of him and suddenly light filled the room, blinding him. Yusei cringed and stayed pressed as far into the couch as he could while his eyes adjusted. The dark shape faded away and replaced itself with Judai, and Martha stood in the doorway to the hallway, looking about half as alarmed as Yusei felt.

He looked away from her and focused instead on Judai. The other met his gaze with a calm, serious expression and seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move. Something about seeing the other drop his normal, bubbly demeanor brought Yusei back into his own body when he wasn't even sure when he'd left it.

"J-Judai?" he gasped out.

Judai smiled softly in relief and nodded, "Hey, Yusei, it's okay. Breathe."

It was only when he said that that Yusei became hyper aware of how quickly he was breathing. Each breath was shallow and jagged and it only got worse the more he tried to fix it. He struggled to find a rhythm again, fear still dominating majority of his thoughts. He started to glance around the room and wanted to run, but his visible exits were all blocked.

A hand over his made him jump, and his eyes refocused on it before following the arm back up to Judai. He was still there with that patient, calm look.

"Eyes on me, okay? Breathe with me. You're safe." Judai smiled a little and waited for the other's eyes to lose a little of that panic before he continued. "You're at home, on the couch. You fell asleep working on your assignment, so I brought you your blanket from your room. Martha is here. I'm here. That's it."

Yusei stared at him and nodded, not letting his eyes wander this time. He followed Judai's pattern until he started to feel like himself again. Pieces started to fall into place one at a time as Judai explained them until he could finally breathe again.

"There you go," Judai praised, rubbing his hand with his thumb. "You're okay."

Yusei closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sitting up completely and looking around himself again. The living room didn't look or feel anywhere near as daunting as it had just moments ago. His things were now scattered across the floor from his earlier scrambling, but at least his laptop was still tucked safely up against the back of the couch. He wasn't quite sure when Martha left, but she wasn't in the doorway anymore. It was just him and Judai now.

"Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I was just trying to bring you a blanket, I swear." Judai confessed, sitting down on the ground now and laughing in relief once he noticed Yusei looking more like himself.

Yusei could feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He was still a little breathless, but he did feel much better. "It's okay. I don't what came over me."

"Is there anything I can get you?" Judai offered, tilting his head a little.

"No, no, I'm okay." Yusei shook his head, starting to reach over to grab his things so he could clean them up when he realized he was tightly holding Judai's hand. He looked to his hand like it wasn't his before letting go and pulling it close to himself. "I-I'm sorry."

Judai himself blushed and drew his hand back, chuckling nervously. "It's fine,"

They both avoided looking at one another, Yusei clearing his throat in attempts to dispel some of the awkward air and Judai trying to help by standing up.

"Both of you look like you could use a cup of tea," Martha spoke up, holding a tray with a pot and three cups.

The tea was gone all too quickly, and Yusei started to doze again in his seat. Martha's lavender blend always helped sooth his nerves and lull him into security.

"Hey, Yusei, don't fall asleep out here again," Judai teased. "I'd hate to accidentally scare you again."

"He's right. Come on." Martha added in, getting up and walking over to him. She brushed back his bangs and rested her hand on his head for a moment. "Off to bed with you."

"Yes, Martha," Yusei hummed, tilting his head up to her hand.

He stood up and went through the motions of getting ready for bed, almost in a zombie state. Judai and Martha shared an amused look and came to a silent agreement.

"I'll make sure he makes it to his bed," Judai assured, laughing softly.

Soon enough, everyone was settled back down and Judai found himself lying in bed, staring at Yusei again. The other had fallen asleep long before his head hit the pillow, and now he was curled up and hugging his pillow tightly. He was still a little ashamed he'd startled Yusei so badly. He was just trying to be nice, but that had backfired. Then there was the way Yusei gripped onto his hand afterward.

' _So, are you going to ask him?'_ Yubel interrupted, sitting at the edge of his bed and looking at him thoughtfully. ' _I mean, he is on your mind a lot.'_

 _Ask him what? Yubel. There's nothing to ask him._ Judai turned to face the wall instead, forcing himself not to stare at the other. It was probably creepy to watch him while he slept anyway. Even if he was worried about him. He wished he knew what Yusei had seen that had freaked him out so badly. If Haou hadn't taken over when he did, he might have gotten kicked in the face or punched.

Yubel only shook their head and folded their arms. ' _There's everything to ask, Judai. For example, what are you both?'_

Judai huffed and curled up tighter, trying to ignore the being he shared a soul with, but the more he thought about it, the more he started to wonder. Yusei was on his mind a lot. Okay, a little more than a lot. His heart skipped a beat whenever the other smiled, and he couldn't help trying to make him do it as often as he could. Maybe he was getting too attached because Yusei was practically the only other human he spent time with lately, aside from the kids and Martha of course. But what did the other think about him? Did he think of him?

Judai fell asleep mid-thought, waking up when he heard Yusei moving around the room again. He groaned and lifted his head, opening his eyes slowly. It was bright in the room, so it must have been morning.

"Judai. You're awake. Good." Yusei picked up a bag and started putting papers in it.

Judai sat up and rubbed his eyes, tilting his head at him. "What's up? Are you feeling better than last night?"

Yusei tensed a little and kept his back to him. "I-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I reacted like that. I guess my mind was just playing tricks on me."

"Most likely, you were muttering. Maybe you didn't know you were awake yet. It's fine though. Don't worry about it." Judai assured, getting up and going to his bag to get a change of clothes. "What are you up to today?"

"About that. I just have to turn in these papers and then I'm done for the day." He answered, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I was thinking of visiting the local fair. Jack should be dueling, and I haven't seen him in awhile."

Judai nodded along and smiled, "That sounds pretty cool. Are you going to duel him?"

Yusei shook his head, "No. I took a step off the dueling stage, so I could study. If I duel him, I'll get dragged back in by the annoying media and it already took forever for Carly to help get them off my back before."

"I see. That makes sense." The brunette nodded along, following him out to the kitchen.

He watched Yusei put in two bagels into the toaster, presumably one for himself and then one for him. It seemed he had something on his mind though. He was biting his lip and glaring at the toaster like it offended him.

"Did you want to come with me?"

"Did I- yeah of course!" Judai cried excitedly only to yell when the toaster went off.

Yusei laughed and shook his head, putting the bagels down and spreading cream cheese on them. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Judai laughed, reaching over to pick up one of the bagels only to get his hand smacked. "H-Hey!"

"I never said that was yours," Yusei retorted, raising his eyebrow at him.

"Then…who's it for? You normally only eat one if not only one half." Judai grumbled, folding his arms.

"Martha." He replied bluntly, staring at him as if he was daring him to contradict him before a grin spread across his face. "I'm kidding, here."

Judai pouted at him and begrudgingly took the bagel from him, biting into it before the other could change his mind. "That was mean."

Yusei just continued to smile at him as he ate his.

They set off soon after, Judai holding onto Yusei as he drove them down to the college campus, so he could turn in his papers. Neo Domino University was much smaller than Judai expected. Then again, Duel Academy basically took up an entire island, so anything would be small compared to it.

"So, how are you going to get close to Jack without the media noticing you?" Judai asked as they started heading towards the fairgrounds.

"I have my ways," was the only answer he got. It didn't nod towards much confidence, but then again, Yusei seemed to be pretty adept at getting around without being noticed.

It was bright and sunny at the grounds, but thankfully it wasn't unbearably hot. Yusei parked his bike in the shade a road or two away to keep it out of sight and locked it up.

"Let's get moving," he called, nodding his head towards the grounds.

There were rides all over, and Judai could smell all sorts of different foods. Instead of leading him through the front gates; however, Yusei instead went off to the side towards the back where the dueling arena was.

"Yusei!" An excited voice called, waving happily from the private entrance.

She had long black hair and large glasses, a reporter's badge hanging from a lanyard on her neck. Judai immediately stepped between them, trying to give Yusei a chance to get out of there. They were supposed to be avoiding the media.

"Carly, it's good to see you," Yusei greeted, putting a hand on Judai's shoulder and squeezing just a little as he whispered in his ear. "Carly's a friend."

"Who's your friend?" Carly asked as she got closer, raising an eyebrow at what looked to be a body guard, maybe. "He is a friend, right?"

"Yes, he's a friend, Carly." Yusei assured her, stepping out from behind Judai so he could introduce them. "This is Judai. I met him during the Paradox incident."

She adjusted her glasses and immediately leaned in close to get a better look at him. "Hi! Nice to meet you, I'm Carly!" She offered her hand. "I have so many questions about the Paradox incident. Yusei won't say a word about it."

Judai shook her hand and happily said hello, looking to Yusei at the remark of his silence. He wasn't too surprised the other would keep quiet about something like that. Paradox wasn't exactly an enjoyable topic for him either. Aside from meeting Yusei and seeing his idol again, the entire ordeal was rather stressful and frightening.

"Maybe some other time," Judai offered, shrugging.

"Thank you!" She chimed happily. "Jack's this way. He's a little grumpy you're not dueling, Yusei. He's still complaining about not being the true King because you still beat him last time."

"It's his title, not mine. Even if I did win, I'm no King." Yusei sighed, smiling a little as he started to follow the excitable girl in through the doors.

Judai wasn't sure what he expected from meeting Jack as they walked through the hallways to the prep room, but it certainly wasn't what he got. They stepped into a rather lavish room once Carly had announced their presence, and seated, or rather, lounging in the couch sat a very regal and pompous looking man. He reminded Judai of Manjoume or Bastian…maybe a weird cross between the two.

"Yusei," the blond greeted, and judging from the large A earrings, Judai pieced together that he was Jack Atlas. He stood up and walked over, offering his hand to the raven beside him.

"It's been awhile, Jack," Yusei's entire demeanor had changed. He was rather relaxed and didn't even hesitate to take the hand offered, allowing the other to pull him into a short hug.

"When will you come back?" Jack asked, gesturing out the large window to the massive track bellow. "You know everyone would love a rematch between us, and this time, my deck will destroy you."

Yusei only laughed and shook his head. "You know I left so I could focus on school, Jack."

"Tch, you're just scared you'll lose this time in front of everyone," Jack retorted, folding his arms. He glanced over at the newcomer as though he was just now aware there was someone he didn't know in the room. He almost seemed to be looking down on Judai, narrowing his eyes a bit at him. "Who are you?"

"Jack, this is Judai. He's the one I told you about that's been staying with Martha and I at the house."

Judai rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously as he felt Jack looking him up and down and sizing him up as though he were determining whether or not he was a threat. It was unnerving to say the very least.

"It's nice to meet you, Judai. Yusei's said a lot about you." Jack finally greeted, offering his hand. "I am Jack. The current King."

"Hi," Judai shook his hand as well.

"Jack's the undefeated champion of the dueling circuits here in Neo Domino, so his title is King." Carly filled in. "Well, practically undefeated. Yusei's the only one to have defeated him."

"And this coward has refused to face me ever since," Jack grumbled, frowning at his friend.

Yusei just chuckled and shook his head.

"That's pretty impressive. I've seen a few riding duels on TV before, a few of yours even." Judai admitted, stepping back a little to stand next to Yusei once more. "I have to say, you're pretty good. I really like your deck. It's clear you and it share a pretty good bond. I mean, I could probably beat you easily if Yusei's defeated you, but who knows."

"Judai," Yusei warned, glancing to him with slightly narrowed eyes. He didn't look like he approved of the other's boasting or challenge.

"Beat me?" Jack only laughed and grinned happily. "By all means, I'd love to take you up on that challenge. Why don't we duel. Right here. Right now. Do you have your deck?"

"Always," Judai answered, reaching down to grab it.

"Actually, your match starts in 20 minutes," Carly interjected, walking up and hugging Jack's arm. "You need to get ready."

"I could beat him in 5."

"I'd like to see you try," Judai retorted, excited at the prospect of dueling.

"If Judai and I are going to watch or get seats, we'd need to leave now actually." Yusei countered, shooting Carly a relieved look.

"Exactly," the girl looked up at Jack with a smile until he huffed in defeat and folded his arms again.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait on that," he grumbled.

"Alright, that works for me," Judai agreed. "I'd hate to throw you off your game before your match."

"Good luck," Yusei said, nodding to Jack.

"Like I need it," Jack threw back, though he was smiling again. "Maybe I'll stop by Martha's sometime for that duel."

"I'll be ready," Judai assured, waving before he turned to follow Yusei out the door. "He seems nice."

Yusei chuckled and nodded, "he can be a little much sometimes, but he's a good friend."

"So, how are we going to go get seats and no be seen?" Judai asked, honestly confused why they couldn't just watch from the prep room. It seemed to have a great view of the arena and they might be able to use the tv to get audio up there.

"We're not, but it should be fine from here. We can just slip into the crows of everyone trying to get in, and so long as they don't notice us coming from the prep side of the building, they won't suspect much other than I'm coming to see Jack's match." Yusei explained with a shrug.

It went down just about exactly as Yusei had said, though they did get stopped by a couple reporters who Yusei blatantly ignored and walked around, or through in one case. Riding duels were far more intense to watch in person. Hearing the engines rev and seeing the strange duel runners and the monster holograms in action was exhilarating. Judai also thought it was endearing to feel Yusei shift this way or that when Jack would take turns or mutter potential strategies Jack could use under his breath. Judai's favorite part though was probably watching Jack summon his ace, Red Dragon Archfiend. He could feel the fierce, close bond between him and that particular monster.

"That was incredible," Judai exclaimed shortly after the duel was over. "I can't believe he barely lost any life points."

Yusei nodded, leaning back in his chair to wait for most of the crowds to leave. "Yeah, Jack's pretty good. Still think you can beat him?"

Judai was practically beaming. "My elemental heroes have my back. I'll beat him no problem."

Yusei smiled at him in amusement and stood up. "If you say so. Anyway, let's get going."

"What? But all we did was watch the duel. Don't you want to go explore? Play games? Go on Rides, or eat food?" Judai protested, baffled Yusei would want to leave already.

"Why would I do that?" Yusei asked, tilting his head. "Let the kids enjoy the fair. We're too old anyway."

". . .Yusei Fudo, I can not believe you just said that to me." Judai glared at him, causing the other to step back. "Have you ever even _been_ to a fair before? Like, not just watched the duel, but done anything at one?"

"No," Yusei answered nervously and glanced around himself. Judai knew he was looking for an escape route.

"Oh no you don't," he moved forward quickly and grabbed him firmly by his wrist. "You're coming with me."

"Judai-!" Yusei barely had any time to protest before he was being dragged out of the little stadium and into the crowds and throngs of people milling about and going about their business. Judai took him to the ticket booth and bought them both a long strip of tickets with the money Martha gave him for doing chores and helping with the kids.

"Judai, what are you doing? Why-"

"Nope. I don't want to hear it. You said you had the rest of the day off now that those papers were turned in. We're going to spend it here." Judai insisted, flashing a wide smile as he brought him to a quieter area of the fair. He figured that the other was probably getting pretty overwhelmed with how quickly he was dragging him around, not to mention the large amount of people around them. "I can't believe you've never been to one before. This is going to be great!"

Yusei shook his head and looked around, grateful for a chance to catch his breath. "I'm not sure our definitions of great align." He remarked hesitantly, eyeing everything around him suspiciously. Of course, when he was younger, he and the others would dream of doing something like this, but he'd always assumed fairs and things like that were for younger kids.

Looking around though, he could clearly see he was wrong. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling just a bit self-conscious. He didn't know what to do or where to even start with this. All his childhood what-ifs or dreams were just to get here. Never what to do after.

"Come on, don't sweat it. I think it's time I got to show you something." Judai assured, offering his hand.

Yusei frowned a little at him and seemed to be thinking everything over. Judai really hoped he would agree. Exploring a fair was one of his favorite things to do. They were always a blast and he wanted Yusei to enjoy one, especially since he'd never been before.

It seemed like forever, but finally Yusei's shoulders dropped and Judai knew he'd won.

"Alright," Yusei conceded and accepted his hand, albeit hesitantly. "Where to first?"

* * *

 **Kitana: Finally, the writing gods have blessed me with the ability to finish this chapter. I've been working on it since the semester ended back in the beginning of May.**

 **At least we have a fun fair to look forward to next chapter though, right? I hope I can write that one a little faster than this one now that I have a better idea of where I'm going.**

 **Thanks to all who've read, favorited/followed and left reviews! You guys make my day (especially the reviewers)  
**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **Favs, follows and reviews greatly appreciated!**


	7. Rollercoaster Fun

" _Where to first?"_

Yusei almost immediately regretted asking as Judai wasted no time in taking his wrist and dragging him through crowded groups of people, taking this turn and that until they found themselves in…the bathroom? Well, this definitely wasn't where he thought he was going and he couldn't tell if he was more confused or disappointed.

"Judai?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

Judai rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a baseball cap and dusting it off. "We had to come in through the back entrance, because you needed to avoid the media, right? Well, I hate to say it Yusei, but your hair is a dead giveaway."

Yusei glanced in the mirror and couldn't help but agree. Who else's hair naturally stood this way? Jack's came close when he let it grow out, but that never happened.

"Here you go," Judai chirped, putting the cap on Yusei's head and helping tuck his hair underneath. He laughed a bit as his hands were swatted away, most likely after accidentally pulling some hair or maybe it was how uncomfortable the hat probably was on top of his spikes.

"Hang on, hang on," Yusei protested, pulling the cap off and going to the sink. He pulled off his gloves and got his hands wet, so he could wet his hair a bit to make it easier to flatten under the cap. It was the only way Aki was able to get it to behave for her. "There. Better?"

"I think it's as good as we're going to get. Now let's go!" Judai walked out and waited for him. "We should totally hit the roller coasters first. That way everything else is less scary."

Yusei stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Isn't that the opposite of how things are normally done?"

Judai only shrugged and took his wrist, dragging him along towards the rollercoasters and screaming. Yusei assumed the screams were from excitement judging by the dazed look people had getting off the rides. He himself only felt apprehension. While speeding down highways and junkyards and doing tricks was fun and exciting to him, he was in full control. Here, he knew he wasn't.

"We need to purchase tickets or…oh, there's a booth over there." Judai gently tugged him over to wait in line. "Uhmm…I just realized."

"I've got it," Yusei couldn't help his amusement as he pulled out his wallet and handed some money to Judai.

"Heh, thanks," he muttered sheepishly before turning to the clerk and paying for them both. They each were required to wear a paper bracelet to show that they'd paid for unlimited rides for the day and 4 games. Anything more and they'd need to pay.

Yusei let Judai take the map and lead them around to the first line. From what he could tell it lead to the smaller of the two roller coasters available that wasn't the one for the kids.

"Let's start with this one in case you don't end up liking them," Judai explained, rocking on his heels. The wait was always the worst part for him. He just wanted to get on and go already. Besides, he'd noticed awhile ago Yusei was tense, and he was starting to worry the long wait might give him time to decide against doing this.

Thankfully, it seemed the other was too busy studying the ride to pay too much attention to the line though and it wasn't too long before they were seated. Judai was sure to put them both in the front row.

Yusei furrowed his brows at all the instructions they were being given: hold tight onto this, press your head back against that. He tested the bar that was pressed down over his chest and on his lap it, happy to find they didn't budge much. The only direction it seemed to be able to move was further down to hold smaller people into place, not out to release.

"This is going to be so much fun," Judai practically burst out, looking to him in excitement.

"I take it you really like rollercoasters," Yusei commented and reached up to hold onto the sides of the harness as they were instructed.

"I love them almost as much as I love riding behind you on your runner." Judai said, turning a color that almost rivaled his trademark jacket the moment he realized what he'd just said. "I-"

The ride lurched forward just then, cutting off their conversation in the nick of time. Instead, their attention was turned towards the tracks before them. It was a slow crawl up to the top of a hill it seemed before it paused.

"Judai, is it supposed to-"

Whatever Yusei was trying to ask was immediately drowned out by the screams of both fear and joy from the passengers as the ride launched itself down the other side at a breakneck pace. Whether or not his scream was amongst those crying out in fear was a secret he'd take to his grave. The wind the drop created made hearing nearly impossible and breathing even more so. Yusei wasn't even sure what possessed him to do so, but instead of keeping a firm grip on the very secure metal bars on either side of his head, his hand instead shot out to grip tightly onto Judai's wrist.

Judai was quick to release his bar in favor of grabbing the other's hand instead, chancing a glance at the other to smile. He was mostly laughing and enjoying the ride as it went along, loving how it jolted this way and hurtled turned down that path. Along the brief straight path, he glanced over at Yusei again. For some reason, his grip didn't seem as tight as before.

"YUSEI! BREATHE!" He shouted and squeezed the other's hand a couple times to get his attention. He couldn't help laughing and being amused that he would need to remind him of all people that breathing was necessary, especially during a high-speed ride like this.

Maybe he'd been too mesmerized by the excitement or perhaps even just too high on adrenaline from the ride that his brain didn't focus on anything but the wind rushing by. Yusei didn't have control over where this was going or what it was going to do and that alarmed him more than he thought it would have. Judai's shouted reminder seemed to finally make his brain aware of how badly his lungs were burning from lack of oxygen though, and he staggered a few breaths. He glanced over and sent what he hoped was a reassuring smile Judai's way, squeezing his hand back as a thank you.

As quickly as it had all began, the ride ended, slowing back down to a halt where it had begun.

"A-Are you okay?" Judai spluttered out, trying to talk around his adrenaline induced laughter.

Yusei flushed darkly and nodded. Judai's laugh was contagious, because it seemed he couldn't keep from softly laughing along as well. "Y-Yeah, I'm alright."

Once the bars were released and they were allowed to get up, Yusei noticed their hands were still tightly clasped together.

"Sorry," he blurted out, trying to take his hand back only to find Judai take it back again.

"Don't be. Come on. You're going to need it back soon here anyway." the brunette grinned and stood up, helping him out of the ride and back onto solid ground.

He was about to ask what Judai meant until he'd stood up again and stepped out. His legs felt like jelly from all the adrenaline and he found himself clutching to Judai in mild alarm.

"I've got you," the other laughed, escorting him outside. Now Yusei understood the stunned expressions of those that he'd watched get off before.

Once they got to a bench, Judai sat down with him. "So, what did you think? I'm honestly amazed your hat stayed on. I thought it was going to fly away at the very beginning!"

"I'm impressed myself, though I think some of it might have to do with how crammed my hair is in it." Yusei agreed, reaching up just to confirm that the hat was indeed still in place. "I- I liked it. A lot. That was fun."

"So, do you want to go on the other one then?" Judai asked excitedly, gesturing to the larger roller coaster.

Yusei nodded and stood up. It had honestly felt like the first time he'd ridden a d-wheel, and he was more than willing to go through it again. He followed along behind Judai, though this time he kept his hand to himself. The crowds weren't thick enough in this area that he thought it necessary.

"I think the line starts here," Judai explained as they came to a stop behind a line of other people. Yusei could see it curve its way to the entrance of the ride.

By the time the sun was starting to set, they had visited nearly every ride. Judai had insisted that they go on the Ferris wheel last; however. He was also very particular that they go at sunset, so they could see all of Neo Domino at that perfect hour.

"So, it just goes in a large circle," Yusei confirmed, looking up at the large, stationary wheel. It looked far more mellow than majority of what the other had dragged him onto and he was admittedly glad for it. It would be a nice way to wind down after everything else.

"Mhmm, it'll spin around a few times and if we're lucky it'll stop while we're at the top. It looks big enough we'll be able to see the whole city and satellite!"

They were seated rather quickly in their booth and it wasn't long before the massive wheel creaked to life and carried them around and around.

Instead of looking around at the scenery, though, Yusei found himself watching Judai. He himself had seen the city from above several times thanks to Jack and his own adventures. It was nothing new to him, but Judai was another story. This version of Domino was completely different, and Yusei was mesmerized by the wonder and delight in the brunette's eyes. The soft little smile that played on his lips that seemed to grow a bit bigger when he saw something he barely recognized even if it was just Kaiba Corp's tower.

He was so caught up in watching Judai enjoy that when the wheel came to a stop, he let out a soft cry and scrambled to hold onto the bar holding them securely in place.

Judai looked over at him and laughed brightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Were you not paying attention?" He asked in amusement, smile never leaving his face.

"I-I guess I wasn't." Yusei stuttered out, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from him. He could only hope Judai hadn't noticed him staring at him instead of looking around.

"I guess I got my wish," Judai announced, turning his attention back to their surroundings. "We're right at the very top. Look around Yusei! Isn't it beautiful. The sun's setting across the water."

Yusei turned to look, eyes widening at the sight before them. He'd seen sunsets on the waters countless times before, and even sunsets from a high vantage point like the cliff, but this was completely different. The sky looked as though it were on fire, reds, oranges and yellows all mixing and extending away from the sun that reflected perfectly in the water it appeared to just be sinking into. It bathed the entire city and island bellow them in a warm and reddish light, that faded to a dark blue as he looked away from it. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky to break up the sky's perfect mix.

A sharp gust of wind broke him out of his trance when it suddenly rocked their booth and dislodged his trusty hat. It had survived two rollercoasters, the swings and even this one ride that just sped around in a circle to some music, but apparently it was no match for wind.

"Your hat," Judai reached out pointlessly for it, as though he might somehow catch it or will it back to them. "Dang it. Oh well. Rest in peace hat. May you find another person's head to sit upon who's just as wonderful as Yusei."

The mechanic in question felt his cheeks heat up at the words though he laughed softly and shook his head. "Let's hope it gets picked up by someone and doesn't just end up on top of a roof or something."

He expected Judai to say something about that like tell him that would be horrible, but instead he just got a silent, half smiling stare.

"What?" He finally asked, looking away from him to the horizon again. Something about that look made his stomach feel funny and his face feel warm.

Judai only shook his head and kicked his legs a little, grinning now. "Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking you should do that more."

"Do what?"

"Laugh. I just really like hearing it." Judai explained, taking his turn to avoid eye contact with the other.

Yusei was about to insist there was nothing special about his laugh when the Ferris wheel began to move again, effectively cutting him off as it caught him off guard again. This time, he felt a hand over his. Just as soon as it was there though, it was gone along with the quietest apology.

"Don't be," he muttered, biting at the edge of his lip as he felt his chest tighten.

Neither of them said anything else until the ride ended and they were let off. Yusei was a little confused by the ride attendants surprised look until he remembered that his hat had been stolen by the wind and was lost somewhere. He tried to look for a less populated path to leave from, but it seemed like right now was a popular time to ride the Ferris wheel.

"Great," he sighed more to himself than anyone else.

"Just act natural. I'm sure no one will try to stop you if you don't interact with them." Judai offered, nodding towards the exit. "Besides, it's getting late. Why don't we head out and get something to eat?"

Yusei smiled a bit and nodded, following after him through the gate back into the main part of the fair. He felt like they hadn't even gone 10 feet before he realized he'd lost Judai somewhere. The other wasn't in front of him and he'd apparently been absently following some other brunette in a red jacket hoodie instead for who could say how long. Turning around and scanning over the crowds, he tried to spot his hyper friend. His heart sank when he couldn't find him.

"Judai?" He called out, starting to back track.

He was about to give up his search and go to an information desk to see if they could help him find the other when he finally spotted Judai standing by the bench next to the Ferris wheel looking about as lost as Yusei felt. He'd gotten turned around a few times and things certainly didn't look familiar with the sun going down.

"Judai!" He yelled again when he felt he was within earshot, jogging over to the other as his head whipped around to search for whoever had called his name.

"Yusei! There you are." Judai said excitedly when he spotted him, running up as well. "I turned around at the exit and you weren't following me anymore."

"I guess I wasn't paying attention. I looked up and I wasn't following you anymore." Yusei admitted, just relieved to have found the other. "I've been looking for you. Were you here this whole time?"

"I figured you might, try to make your way back here so I thought I'd just wait. I was beginning to worry you'd left without me."

"I highly doubt Yusei even has the capability of leaving a friend behind," someone interjected behind them, drawing both of their attention to them. Jack grinned at them with his hands on his hips and Carly on his arm. He was wearing a black beret and sunglasses most likely to hide from the general public like Yusei had. "I thought you were going home after the match like you normally do."

"Judai wanted to explore a bit," Yusei filled in.

"Why don't you two come with us for a bit? Jack was just about to win me that awesome octopus stuffed animal!" Carly announced, gesturing to the game booths where a large stuffed purple octopus looked down on all the others. It was even wearing sunglasses.

"I was what?" Jack looked to the girl in annoyance. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Are you saying you _can't_ win the octopus?" Yusei challenged, knowing his friend wouldn't be able to resist.

"Oh, is that how we're going to play?" Jack returned, turning instead to Judai. "Judai. Do you see anything you like up there from the top shelf?"

"W-What? Me?" Judai looked to Yusei before studying the top shelf. That's when he saw it. "They have a giant winged kuriboh!"

"Alright Yusei. I bet you can't win that winged kuriboh before I win the octopus." Jack announced, offering his hand. "Don't worry about how many chances. I'll cover it."

"Jack, most of these games are rigged. You know that, right?" Yusei asked though it was difficult to resist as it was.

"Is that the excuse you're going with when I beat you?" Jack taunted, knowing he'd already gotten his way.

"Please Yusei?" Carly and Judai begged together, both eager to get their reward and watch the two compete.

Rolling his eyes, he gave in, taking Jack's hand in his. "You wish. Deal."

With their pact made, they walked up to the booth and watched the game. It was a ladder climbing game with a ladder only supported by one rope at the center instead of the traditional two anchors making it very unsteady. They both watched it for a moment, observing others attempt it and even the person running the game prove it wasn't impossible.

"Balance is going to be an issue," Yusei muttered, following Jack to the front so they could play.

Something about their demeanor changed, and Judai wasn't quite sure if it was for the better or worse. Yusei's eyes were narrowed in concentration and Jack's smile looked dangerous. They both nodded to each other after paying for their turn.

"Relax. They're just competitive." Carly reassured, folding her arms as she watched in amusement. Especially when the one in charge realized that it was the Yusei Fudo at his stall.

Yusei slipped off his jacket and handed it to Judai while Jack offered his to Carly. Neither wanted the edges to get in the way of their hands and feet.

Judai felt his heart skip a beat. He really hadn't realized how muscular Yusei was, let alone seen him without his jacket. He was always wearing his jacket before, and damn did the thick material hide a lot.

"Shit." He muttered to himself, putting a hand to his mouth to hopefully hide the faint blush on his face.

"I know," Carly hummed next to him, making him jump. He'd completely forgotten she was there.

His admiration of this new view quickly turned to amusement; however, as it took both of them all of two steps before the ladders flipped and dropped them to the ground. The next round, Yusei'd nearly reached for the next wrung when Jack reached over and flipped his ladder, effectively dropping the other much to his frustration.

"Just had to be sure of something," Jack taunted when Yusei stood up and tried to glare at him. Their height difference just made it completely ineffective though. He barely made it to Jack's chest.

Jack's strategy settled to just brute force, trying to power his way up the ladder while Yusei went more for speed. Judai was trying his hardest not to laugh at each tumble, fall and feisty exchange, but Carly's outbursts made it nearly impossible. He could tell Yusei was starting to get frustrated, so he decided he should probably say something.

"Come on, Yusei! You can do it!" He yelled to the other, giving him a thumbs up.

The mechanic looked over at him, raising an eyebrow before covering his mouth as Carly went all out starting to cheer for Jack as well.

He turned and started up the ladder once more, instead of trying for speed, taking his time and making sure his center of balance was lowered. Finally, he was able to slowly reach out and quickly press the button before his relief made him lose his balance and he fell again. To his surprise, Jack pressed it at the same time and fell beside him.

Both looked to each other and grinned.

"I win." Jack announced.

Yusei only shook his head and got up, slipping down and informing the very amused merchant which prize he wanted. Judai was right. The kuriboh was giant. It was hard to even wrap his arms around it to carry it over to the other.

"Here," he offered once he'd made it to Judai.

"Thank you!" Judai excitedly accepted the blush and buried his face in its fluff. "It's perfect!"

"You came on your dwheel, didn't you?" Jack asked after depositing the large octopus on Carly's head. "How are you planning on getting that home?"

Yusei pursed his lips and looked at the large plush clutched in Judai's arms. There was no way they were going to be able to get it home safely on his bike, and he somehow highly doubted that Judai was going to be letting go of his prize anytime soon.

"We might just have to walk," he sighed, comparing the distance to how tired he was from all they'd done today.

"He can ride with me instead," Jack offered. "I brought my car."

"I guess it is preferable," he agreed, looking up at Jack. "He's a good friend, Jack. Please be nice."

When he only got a grumble in response, he punched the other's shoulder. "Jack."

"I'll be nice, sheesh," Jack finally conceded, grinning down at him.

Yusei walked over to Judai to tell him of their new travel arrangements, but he couldn't even get a word in edgewise before Judai went from hugging the kuriboh to wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

"J-Judai," Yusei protested immediately, trying to pull back without making him drop the plush.

"Thank you!" Judai gushed before finally letting go and going back to holding it. "S-Sorry. I love it."

"You're welcome?" Yusei couldn't really tell what he should be doing in this situation. He didn't think a plush would mean so much to Judai and he'd mostly accepted Jack challenge just for the sake of not losing face to his friend, but the brunette was just so happy and excited now. "Uhm, well, to get it back to the house, you'll have to ride with Jack. Is that okay?"

"What?" Judai's face fell a bit before logic caught up with him. "I guess we really wouldn't fit… You and I barely fit on your bike as it is."

"It was only built for one person," Yusei reminded.

"Okay, okay. Let's get home. I'm getting hungry."

Judai parted from Yusei at the entrance after he'd returned the jacket he may or may not have kept from the other on purpose until he specifically asked for it back. He watched the other disappear in the sea of other people leaving the fair off to where they'd parked the bike earlier that day before turning to follow Jack and Carly to their vehicle. He wasn't too surprised to find out Jack drove a nice white sports car, but it was still impressive.

"Wow. Your car is beautiful." He said in awe.

"It is." Jack agreed, smiling proudly only to receive a punch on his shoulder from Carly. "Hey!"

"You know what you did," was all she said before going to the passenger side and pulling her seat down so Judai could slip into the back. "It'll be a little cramped, but the drive to Martha's shouldn't take too long."

"Thanks,"

The moment the car door shut the mood did a 180, and Judai swore he could feel the air starting to freeze. He tried to ignore it as they drove out of the parking lot, but with every turn they took even he could tell they weren't going to Martha's.

"U-Uhm, Jack, are you sure you know where you're going?" Judai asked after a moment. Nothing looked familiar anymore. He could feel Haou and Yubel getting ready to take over or lend him their strength if he needed them, but he really hoped it didn't come to that. Jack and Yusei seemed like such close friends. What was going on?

"Of course. A king always knows where they're headed." Jack replied, only glancing at the other in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

It wasn't much further before Jack pulled over and put the car in park. The intimidating blond took off his sunglasses and turned around to face him, eyes narrowed threateningly.

"Alright, spill it. Who are you and what do you want with Yusei?"

* * *

 **Kitana:** **I honestly couldn't for the life of me figure out what carnival game they should play together. It took me literal hours of looking at them to figure out which ones wouldn't give them an unfair advantage, though really, growing up in the Satellite and climbing over questionably stable structures most of their childhood still gave them an advantage.**

 **Hope you enjoyed as much as I enjoy writing this! Kinda a bummer this is one of the last happy chapters for a little while.**

 **Reviews, favorites and follows greatly appreciated!**


	8. Ticking Clocks

Judai felt a weight lift off his shoulders almost immediately, and he mentally urged the other two to calm down as well. From what he'd seen of the pictures on Yusei's nightstand, he'd grown up with Crow and Jack, so it made sense that Jack would be protective of the other. He just hadn't expected him to come at him like this.

"I kind of already told you most of that," Judai started, smiling as he met Jack's gaze evenly. "I'm Judai Yuki. I came from the past to visit Yusei because I missed him after our duel against Paradox."

"And how long ago was that? He didn't mention you were just visiting." Jack pressed further.

"Well, I guess I spent a few months looking for a way to get here. For you all, the Paradox incident happened… roughly a year ago if I remember what Yusei said correctly. I showed up here about four months ago. I've been staying with Yusei and Martha since I got here." Judai continued. He was a little confused why Yusei wouldn't say he was just visiting. After all, that had been the original plan. Visit for awhile and then go back to his own timeline where he could go back to finding people like himself and helping them. He could go back at any time now. All he had to do was use the Time Wizard card he'd gotten from the duel spirit, but now the thought of doing so felt wrong. Like it would be a mistake.

Jack sighed and got out of the car, nodding to Judai to follow him. He sat up against the trunk and crossed his arms over his chest while he glared out at the road like it had somehow offended him. Judai could only assume that was his thinking face.

"How did you get here, and why bother? Why not just wait the 40 years to meet up with Yusei?" He finally asked, looking over at him.

Judai opened his mouth to answer a few times only to shut it when he realized he didn't have a very good answer. Telling him he was impatient to see him again probably wouldn't blow over very well. Why had he been in such a rush? Searching tirelessly for a way to come see one friend for _years_ when he could have just trusted that he would be able to see him again when their timelines actually crossed was excessive, even for himself.

' _It is your nature, though, Judai,'_ Yubel commented, folding their arms similarly to Jack's as they appeared across from the blond. _'You'd go to the ends of the earth for anyone you considered a friend.'_

 _True, but I could have been patient. I would have still kept my promise to him if I came to him as a 57 year old man instead of 21._

"Time travel is complicated. I didn't exactly have a giant red fire dragon to carry me between timelines like Yusei did." Judai finally spoke up, realizing he hadn't answered Jack yet. "As far as why not wait…I don't know."

He let out a startled cry as he was suddenly grabbed by the front collar of his shirt and lifted off the ground. Judai reflexively allowed Yubel to lend their strength for the time being in case Jack got any more violent, though he doubted Jack appreciated him meeting his glare with one of his own.

"What do you mean 'it's complicated' and 'I don't know'?" Jack demanded, seemingly unphased by the other's change in eye color. Though the change in demeanor was minorly alarming. "That's not good enough. Yusei may be content with such answers, but I'm not buying any of it. He only sees the good in others. He probably hasn't even asked you why yet, has he?"

"Jack, put him down," Carly warned, putting a hand on his arm.

"Tch," he glanced to Carly and Judai watched almost all of his anger melt away into annoyance as they seemed to have a silent argument over her request.

With both feet back on the ground, he dusted himself off and adjusted his shirt. Mostly to stall for time and gather his thoughts, but also to make sure it hadn't gotten too stretched out. He doubted he'd be able to find a replacement.

"I mean what I said. I don't know just why I _had_ to see him again so soon. I only know I really didn't want to wait 40 years. I'm sorry that's not good enough for you. It's good enough for Yusei." Judai snapped, influence shifting closer to his darker persona. He didn't like it when Haou insisted on getting his two cents in, but the king helped him say the things he normally couldn't or wouldn't in situations like this. "What does it matter to you if Yusei's asked yet? Why does any of this matter to you at all? Yusei can make his own decisions, and he's _decided_ he wanted me to stay with him."

Jack looked ready to punch him, but whether he resisted because of Yusei or because Carly was standing there, Judai really didn't know.

"It matters to me because Yusei's my friend, and I won't let anyone hurt my friends," Jack growled back at him, more than willing to meet the challenge.

"Yeah? Well, he's my friend too." Judai returned, frowning. "Don't believe me? Then duel me. If I win, you get off my back about this."

"And if I win, you give me a direct answer." Jack agreed, reaching to his belt to get his deck.

"G-Guys! Hey, wait! You don't have time for this! Yusei's probably already at Martha's!" Carly tried to interrupt, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Jack had already thrown a duel disk Judai's way and they were stepping away from the car. The thought to call Yusei crossed her mind, but that might only fan the flames even more. Yusei would be pretty upset to find out Jack had even cornered Judai like this, let alone that the two were fighting over him.

~.~.~.~.

Yusei paced around the living room, the knot in his stomach only tightening as the time ticked by. Jack couldn't have gotten lost on the way there. He should have known the way to Martha's even if he'd gotten dropped off in a random location anywhere in the city. He had been driving his car though, so maybe that had added some time to his trip? No. It shouldn't have. They should have arrived roughly at the same time. Maybe he wanted to pick something up for Martha? He could have at least called.

"Maybe you should call them before you pace a canyon into my living room," Martha called from the kitchen after roughly 15 minutes of listening to him restlessly mutter to himself.

"R-Right," Yusei was a bit embarrassed he hadn't thought to do so already.

Correction, he had. It was simply that every time he'd gone to try to call them, he wondered if they were just about to pull in and Jack would get annoyed that he hadn't trusted him. By now though, concern was starting to ebb into worry. He hadn't heard any emergency sirens, and he was pretty sure Jack Atlas getting into any kind of crash, serious or minor, would be plastered all over the news in a heartbeat.

Picking up his phone, he decided to call Carly since she wouldn't be the one driving and Judai was probably still hugging that kuriboh.

…

"Hello? Yusei?" Carly normally sounded like a frantic mess, so hearing things fall in the background like she had dropped several things trying to get to her phone didn't set of any alarms.

"Are you all okay? Did Jack get lost?" Yusei asked.

"N-No, no! We're all fine. Jack didn't get lost. We're just still caught in traffic!" Carly stuttered out.

"Oh, alright," his frown only deepened. Traffic hadn't been bad at all when he was driving back, and they shouldn't have been that far behind. "How far out do you think you guys are?"

' _Red demon's dragon, ATTACK'_

"…Carly, was that Jack?"

' _NEOS'_

"Are they dueling?"

"What? I-I couldn't hear you, Yusei." Carly started to say, and a crackling sound suddenly filled his ear, making hearing her nearly impossible. "You're…breaking up…"

Yusei didn't even wait for her to finish her charade of crinkling paper before hanging up and grabbing his helmet. He should have known Jack would pull something like this. He didn't mind that they were dueling. Not at all. What he minded was not being informed. He minded what he could only imagine what lead to this duel.

As if knowing he had every intention of driving around Neo Domino blindly until he found them, a text from Carly flashed across his helmet's screen displaying their location.

"I told him to be nice," Yusei grumbled under his breath as he slipped onto his dwheel and pulled back out onto the road.

It hardly took him any time at all to speed through town, drifting to a halt in front of the car and just in time to see the holograms from a duel vanish. He dismounted and tossed his helmet onto the seat as he stormed up to the taller blonde. Yusei could only assume Jack had lost by the stunned and dazed look on his face.

"Jack," he warned before throwing a punch. The other must have been really out of it as he came down like a house of cards. "What exactly is going on here? I told you to be nice. Judai is my friend."

Judai swallowed hard, more than grateful Yusei's full attention was on Jack because he was positive his face was as red as his jacket. Something about watching the smaller male completely deck Jack sent his heart aflutter and stole his breath away. He couldn't even find the voice to tell Yusei that this was all fine and they'd worked things out. His mind was a total blank.

' _Judai? Hey, come on. Snap out of it.'_ Yubel tried, waving their hand in front of his face.

 _Fuck._

All his daydreaming was enough to distract him from whatever argument those two were having up until all that rage he was admiring in Yusei's eyes was suddenly turned on him. Judai snapped to attention when it finally clicked for him that Yusei was now talking to him and not just Jack. What had he been saying before?

"…okay? Why did you even agree to duel him in the first place?" Yusei folded his arms and waited for an answer.

"I-" Judai glanced to Jack for an out, but it was clear by the bruise forming on his cheek that there would be no rescue from his new friend. "Yusei, don't worry about it. It's fine. We're all friends now. You should know as well as us that you can reach people deeper through a duel. Jack just wanted to make sure we were cool."

"I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable or pressured you into anything." Yusei sighed.

"What? Not at all! I had so much fun! You know how much I love dueling and Jack was a pretty challenging opponent. His deck is really cool." Judai tried to reassure him, reflexively reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder before he had time to think about his actions.

Yusei flinched out from under his hand but didn't make any comment on it, and Judai just wasn't sure if that was worse than him saying anything. The mechanic just nodded and looked between everyone as if trying to gauge the mood before a small smile finally pulled at the corners of his lips.

"I think that makes Judai the new King," he informed, smile only growing at the outrage that spread across Jack's face.

"What? How does that little side duel make him the new king? I let him win because it was the outcome I wanted." Jack huffed and folded his arms, not looking at either of them. "You would have been even more upset if I had beaten him, because then he'd be sad he lost."

"Of course it was," Carly added in, poking his cheek. "Come on. Let's get going. It's starting to get cold out here."

Sure enough, with the sun having long since set, the colder night air wasn't going to be getting any warmer.

"Agreed. And before you say anything, yes Yusei. I am actually going to drive him back to Martha's now." Jack agreed, going back to his car and holding open the passenger door for Carly.

"I'll follow behind you this time," Yusei replied. He went back to his own bike and slipped on, revving the engine when he was situated and ready to go.

As he drove behind the car, he tried to let the sound of his bike drown out the thoughts racing through his head. Most of them revolved around his irritation over Jack feeling the need to drill Judai, but there were a few strays that wouldn't let go of how flushed Judai had been when he'd first started talking to him. Then there was the confusion as if he really hadn't been listening to a word he'd said. Why had Judai been so flustered? It didn't make sense. Also, while he was thinking about the brunette, what had possessed him to touch him so casually? True enough, they'd been holding hands all that afternoon to avoid getting separated at the fair and maybe to keep tabs on each other on the rollercoaster, but that was all.

Unfortunately, as usual, riding through the city back to Martha's had the opposite effect he was hoping for. It had given him plenty of time and space to think, to overanalyze the entire day. Yusei only found himself more confused and frustrated by the time they were home than before they'd departed.

He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind where they belonged as quickly as he could manage and placed his helmet on the seat before following the group inside. He sat back on the recliner and listened to Judai and Jack regale Martha with tales of what had happened that day, along with a very animated explanation to where the large plushies came from.

"I'm surprised you got Yusei to stay after his hat fell off," Martha commented when they were finished.

Judai laughed and shrugged, "We were actually trying to leave when we ran into Jack and Carly. They convinced him to stay a bit longer, really."

"Those two together always ends in a competition of some sort," Martha sighed in exasperation. She looked to her two boys in turn and shook her head. "Add Crow to the mix and I'm pretty sure you would all still be there as they tried to one up each other."

The room filled with laughter while Jack and Yusei each sported matching red cheeks. They both muttered some kind of disagreement or protest, but it fell on deaf ears.

Their chatter continued on long into the night, until Martha decided she was ready to go to bed. Jack and Carly agreed they should head home as well and everyone started to bid each other farewell and goodnight.

Jack shook Judai's hand and pulled him towards him, whispering in his ear, "Carly and I have seen the way you look at him. If you hurt a single hair on his head, there will be no mercy."

"Woah, man, what are you talking about?" Judai gently pushed him back and smiled nervously. He glanced in Yusei's direction to make sure he hadn't heard and was relieved to see him preoccupied with Carly still. "We're just friends. Besides, why would I ever hurt him?"

Jack didn't respond to him. He only continued to glare until his attention was taken by who Judai had now confirmed was his girlfriend. The blonde was starting to remind Judai of Chaz with how disapproving he was. Maybe one day, he'd be able to get through that thick shell like he'd done with 'the Chaz' and they'd be friends.

Judai waved them off with the others and immediately went about his nightly routine with them. He soon found himself in his bed, facing the wall. He couldn't face Yusei right now. Not with what Jack had said still swirling around in his mind. He'd even been ignoring Yubel and Haou as he tried to piece together just what he meant. He knew, sure, but the real question was whether or not he accepted what he knew to be true.

"Judai, are you still up?" Yusei's voice tore through his thoughts easily. He couldn't ignore him.

"Yeah, I'm up. What is it?" He asked, not moving.

"What did Jack want to know from you, if you don't mind me asking?" He sounded uncertain, probably not wanting to seem like he was prying.

"Just the usual 'who are you?', 'what do you want with my little brother?' type questions. Nothing too personal or invasive." Judai explained, laughing quietly to himself. "Really, he was mostly concerned about whether or not I had an ulterior motive for being here so long with no plan of leaving."

"…Do you have an ulterior motive?" More uncertainty. His voice was getting harder to hear too.

"What?" Judai sat up now and turned around to look across the room at the other. Yusei was curled up on his side with his back to him so he couldn't see his face. "Yusei, look at me. I don't have any other motives for being here other than you. I swear. Seriously, what other motives could I have? My timeline is in the past, not the future. There's nothing I could do here that would benefit my timeline. If anything, I'd probably take what I know now to stop Zero Reverse from happening, so you could have your parents with you."

Now Yusei sat up and faced him as well. "Who told you about my parents?"

Judai blinked. Out of everything he had just said _that's_ what stuck to him? It was a little more than frustrating, but he'd let it slide for now. "Martha. I asked her about them and she told me they died in Zero Reverse and that your dad had been Dr. Fudo, the lead researcher and in charge of the original Moment reactor. What's wrong? Did you not want me to know?"

"That's not it." Yusei's eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his hands in his lap, glaring down at the floor.

"What is it then? Yusei, come on. I could have found out from her or from simply looking up online 'What happened to Yusei Fudo's parents?'. I'm sure there are hundreds of news articles explaining it." Judai huffed, folding his arms. "I guess I could have asked you, but I doubt you'd have answered me. I've figured out by now you don't like talking about your past."

"I suppose…" Yusei couldn't argue that point at all. Judai was right. He really didn't enjoy talking about anything prior to the World Riding duel Grand Prix.

They both let the silence between them thicken and grow after that, though neither of them made a move to lay back down.

"Do you want to go back?"

Judai's head snapped up. He almost hadn't heard Yusei with how quietly he spoke, and he honestly hadn't expected Yusei to be the one to break the silence, let alone change the subject to that.

"Do I want to go back?" He repeated the question back dumbly. He knew exactly what Yusei had meant. The problem was, it was a question he himself didn't know the answer to yet.

Did he want to go back? Many would tell him that his timeline was where he belonged. It was how it was intended to be. People weren't supposed to time travel and stay there. There were several movies depicting that the consequences for staying were severe and horrible. Wouldn't the world fall to pieces or drastically change if he officially made the decision to stay? Being out of place in time could have a large impact on future events, and even past ones. He didn't want that.

All the same, he was slowly starting to realize that perhaps he didn't want to go back. Lately, even the thought of returning to his own timeline had made his stomach twist almost painfully, and it felt as though something were telling him not to return, that this was where he was meant to be. If he thought about it, this was a timeline where he stayed. According to everything on record, he should have vanished 40 years ago, so if he really decided to stay, nothing should change except the future.

"It's okay if you do, you know," Yusei said quietly, not looking at him. "It would make sense if you do. It's technically where you belong."

"Yusei…"

"All your friends and family are there, and it's not like you wouldn't ever see me again. You'd just have to wait 40 years this time." He tried to joke, though the humor in his voice was painfully forced and he was sure Judai saw right through it.

Yusei'd been avoiding this conversation for so long. He knew that for himself, Judai wouldn't be gone more than a day at most. He'd probably see the other tomorrow at noon for lunch, but it wouldn't be the same. Even though little time would pass, it would feel like an eternity. Seeing Judai so much older while he himself remained the same would just feel so wrong. He didn't want him to go. He wanted Judai to stay. For whatever reason, he wanted him to stay with him in this timeline, but it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair to Judai. He deserved to be back in his timeline. It was where he belonged.

A lump formed in his throat, growing larger with every passing thought and reasoning that all lead to the same conclusion making breathing difficult. Swallowing only served to make things worse, and he could feel himself starting to shake as he tried to hold his emotions back by clenching his fists tighter and tighter. He had to ignore how he felt about this. He refused to let himself sway Judai's decision.

A single tear escaped and made its way steadily down Yusei's nose despite all his efforts to keep it back, and he watched it fall down to his hand.

The world stopped for Judai. There was no sound or thought. He doubted his heart was even beating. All he saw was that tear. All he felt was the misery coming off Yusei in waves. He couldn't take it. Judai got up and went over to Yusei's bed, sitting down and grabbing the other's hands in his own. He gripped onto them tightly, not giving Yusei the option to pull away even if he tried. He wanted his full attention and he was going to get it even if he had to force him to look at him.

"Yusei Fudo, I _refuse_ to wait 40 years to see you again. I don't want to go back to my own timeline."

* * *

 **Kitana:** **8 always has been my favorite number, and now it's my favorite chapter. (fun fact: this chapter is 3,888 words long)**

 **Reviews, follows and favorites greatly appreciated**

 **Side Note: I have a tumblr where you can ask me questions about this or just chat. Feel free to stop by anytime! My url is pretty much my penname here. kitana-lunara**


	9. Give me a Reason

The words sank in slowly for Yusei. His face felt like it was going to melt off from embarrassment. He couldn't believe he was actually crying over this like a child being told they might not get to go somewhere, though in this case he didn't _want_ someone to go. Shame and what Judai said was making it hard to think straight at all, which was only frustrating him.

His knee jerk reaction was relief of course, but it quickly morphed into anxiety. There should be no reason for Judai to want to stay in this timeline. Well, no legitimate reason. As enthralling and wonderful as future technology was for the other, it shouldn't have been enough to make him want to stay rather than return to his time. Especially when it wasn't as though he'd be dead or too old to use it by the time their timelines lined up and met again. Yusei didn't understand why Judai wanted to stay, and that almost scared him more than the thought of him wanting to leave.

"Why? Why do you want to stay?" Yusei finally asked after he trusted his voice not to crack and the lump in his throat slowly settled down in his stomach instead. Did he even really want to know the answer?

A light pink dusted across Judai's cheeks and he glanced away from Yusei despite gripping his hands a little tighter. Not that Yusei was even looking at him to begin with. The raven's eyes were still firmly fixed on his trapped hands and the few tear drops on them.

"I want to stay because… well, because of you." Judai tried to explain, smiling sheepishly as he started to think out loud. "I really like you, Yusei, and I don't exactly mean as a friend. I mean, I like you as a friend. You're a great friend. I just also like you like you, and I don't want to wait 40 years, because then it'll be too late and I'll be too old. I want to stay with you as I am now. Of course, only if that's okay with you?"

Judai's heart practically stopped when he realized he'd said all of that out loud. _Had_ he just said that out loud? Maybe he didn't and it was just his imagination that was making his throat run dry. He didn't even know if Yusei swung that way. Weren't you supposed to double check that before you just threw your entire friendship on the line by confessing?

He tried to study Yusei's expression to see if he was panicking for no reason or if he should keep panicking, but Yusei didn't look like he was processing any of this either. He was staring at him like a deer caught in headlights with those big blue eyes. So, he had said it out loud. Great. Somehow, Judai could just feel Yusei desperately trying to put two and two together to make four, but all he was coming up with was seven which made Judai's heart sink right into the depths of the earth.

"Yusei, I'm-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's the truth, but I don't even know if that's even your thing." Judai started rambling again, trying to crawl his way out of the hole he dug by digging even deeper. "I'll just go and give you some space. I'll sleep on the couch tonight and maybe forever. Okay? Okay. I'm gonna go sleep on the couch."

He did what he did best and laughed it off nervously while gathering a pillow and blanket and all but running out of the room to the sudden sanctuary the living room had become. He plopped his pillow on the arm of the couch and flopped down, blanket already wrapped around him from his trip out there.

' _Smooth.'_ Haou commented from the back of his mind.

 _Oh, shut up!_ Judai snapped back, huffing and covering his ears despite knowing that wouldn't help at all.

' _It's not our fault you told him.'_ Yubel grumbled, and he could just _feel_ them rolling their eyes at him.

Judai groaned and buried his face into the back of the couch. _He hates me. I know he hates me. Maybe I should just go back to my timeline._

' _I'm pretty sure if he doesn't hate you now, he would if you left him like that.'_ Yubel pointed out. _'Or at least be really upset. He did start crying when he thought you wanted to leave, and you just told him you wanted to stay. Wouldn't you be lying if you left now?'_

 _Oh my God was he still crying?! Shit!_ Judai scrambled to his feet, or rather tried to. He'd forgotten he was wrapped in a blanket and in his sudden attempt to get up, said blanket turned against him, making him fall to the floor on his face instead.

"Owww," he groaned, struggling with and throwing off the blanket before finally standing up. "Wait…"

He couldn't go back in after saying he was going to give him some space. That really wouldn't work at all. He would be going against what he'd said. On the other hand, what if Yusei was still crying? No one should cry alone. Especially when he had been crying over the fact he might leave him and then he just up and left. Not necessarily in the same manner that the other had been worried about, but still. What if he thought he did leave instead of just go to the couch like he said?

"What should I do?" he mumbled to himself, dragging his hands down his face before aggressively ruffling his own hair. "Dammit brain, think."

When someone knocked on the wall from the hall, he didn't expect to look up and find Martha standing there with a slightly annoyed frown on her face.

"Judai, what are you doing up and out here at this hour?" She grumbled, gaze only softening after she took in how lost the other looked. "Sit down and tell me what's wrong."

"M-Martha," Judai bit his lip before doing what he was told, sitting crosslegged on the couch and holding onto his ankles. He really didn't even know where to begin.

After the silence drug on for awhile longer, the old woman shook her head and sat down herself. "Does this have anything to do with Yusei?"

His head snapped to attention hearing the other's name and he felt his face heat up in embarrassment that he was read so easily. "I-… yeah. It has everything to do with him." Suddenly, he couldn't stop himself. He had to tell someone who wasn't trapped in his head.

"We were talking, and he asked if I wanted to go back to my timeline. I don't, and I was about to tell him that, but I guess he really didn't want me to go because he got pretty upset. I told him I didn't want to go, but he didn't believe me. So, I told him that I didn't want to go back because I didn't want to be an old man when I met him because I kind of sort of have a huge crush on him. Well, when I told him that, I realized what I said and just took all my things and came out here to sleep because I didn't want him to feel awkward because I don't even know if he swings that way. Does he swing that way? I don't know. So, I came out here, and then I realized he was still upset when I left so I was going to go check on him, but I tripped and fell on my face and now you're here. I don't know what to do. He probably hates me now."

If Martha understood half of what he'd just rambled off at her, she didn't really show it. She blinked a few times, as if trying to put it all together in a coherent and logical way then stood up. She walked over to Judai calmly and quietly and backhanded him upside the back of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Judai yelped, immediately reaching up to protect his head from any more blows.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do." Martha bit back, frowning more now. "You're going to gather your things and march your ass back into that room and apologize to Yusei for running away like that after telling him something so important."

Her hard expression softened considerable as she smiled and folded her arms over her chest. "You really shouldn't be asking me what he prefers. Man up and go ask him yourself. If he rejects you, so be it. If he accepts you, then alright. Either way, you won't be out here torturing yourself with what if's anymore."

"I-… You're right." Judai sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't really argue with her on that though the prospect of doing what she was telling him to seemed more daunting than staying out here an never knowing. "Thank you, Martha."

"Hurry up and get so I can go back to bed," she teased, shaking her head at him now.

Judai laughed quietly and did as he was told, gathering his pillow and blanket back up from the ground and heading back towards the room he'd fled from before. Should he knock or just walk back in? Did Yusei even want to see him? When he finally settled on knocking, he realized the door was actually still open. Apparently, he'd never paused to close it behind him earlier.

With a deep breath, Judai poked his head back into the room. "Yusei?"

Yusei stiffened hearing his name and slowly lifted his head from his knees, looking up towards the door almost hesitantly. While he had the tiniest of hopes it was just Martha with Judai's voice, he knew better and shouldn't have been so surprised to see the brunette standing there instead of the strong matriarch. He was still working on processing everything Judai had said and just how he felt about it. He thought he'd known what he wanted to say before, but Judai had left so suddenly he wasn't sure it would be right to say it now. Anxiety sunk its claws into his throat, rendering him mute and leaving him to just stare up at the other, waiting for him to make the first move.

"Can I come in?" Judai tried, wanting some kind of reaction from him other than that cautious look. It almost felt like Yusei expected him to jump him or something. When he finally got a slow nod, he made his way in and set his things back down on his bed before sitting at the edge. Where should he begin?

"Yusei, I'm…I'm sorry." There. That was a great place to start. 10 points for Judai. "I'm sorry I said something like that and then just ran off when I'd just told you I wanted to stay. That really wasn't the best idea I've had in a while."

He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, chancing a glance at the mechanic. He still hadn't moved a muscle except to keep his eyes on Judai, but at least he looked like he at least had something to say or wanted to say something. So, Judai stayed quiet and waited. He didn't want to pressure Yusei into saying anything, but he didn't want to talk over him either. Something told him he wouldn't hear the other if he did.

"I'm…glad you came back," Yusei finally said, fighting to find the right words and struggling to keep his throat open enough to speak. His heart was racing and pounding in his ears, making it hard to hear or think straight. He knew what he wanted Judai to know, but he didn't really know how to say it and he wasn't used to being at a loss for words. Then again, Jack and Crow did most of the talking and he normally just had to say something about them all being friends and working together from time to time. Being unable to say what he wanted was starting to frustrate him. Why couldn't he just spit it out?

After a few more moments of hesitation and fumbling with his words, he finally managed to come up with something coherent to say. He just hoped Judai understood. "I'm okay with it, by the way. You staying, that is… as you are. I admit, you being so much older all of a sudden would be… weird."

"Heh, you can say that again," Judai agreed, trying to disperse some of the tension building up in the room.

"Judai, I-" Again his words caught in his throat and he was starting to wish he still kept water in his room. Fueled by a bit of anger towards himself for his loss of his voice and the confusing torrent of emotions causing it, he decided to just say what was on his mind. "I don't know how to respond to your feelings towards me. I need time to think about that. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Judai shook his head and kept up a smile, though he was fighting off the feeling of disappointment and anxiety that was starting to drown him. "Yusei, you don't need to be sorry. I shouldn't have dropped that on you so suddenly. Take your time, and be honest with me when you find your answer, okay? There's no rush. I guess I just wanted to get it off my chest."

Yusei only nodded and slowly got up, taking one of his soft blankets off his bed and wrapping it around his shoulders. "I'm going to go get some water…"

He waited until the other was gone before he let his face fall and shoulders drop. What was he expecting? For the other to jump into his arms declaring his own love for him in return? Yusei wasn't that kind of person. He needed to think everything through carefully and consider all the options available to him. It was one of the things Judai admired in him the most, but not knowing just how the other felt after he'd told him was going to be almost unbearable.

He sighed a little and laid down on his bed. "I just hope he doesn't treat me weird or too differently now that he knows…"

' _If he does, I'll kill him,'_

 _Haou...no._

* * *

 **Kitana: This has been rewritten several times because I couldn't figure out how Yusei should react. This feels best.  
**

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 **Questions? Find me at kitana-lunara on tumblr!**


	10. I Need Advice

Yusei leaned over the railing, once more at the cliffside he retreated to when he needed to think about anything important. It had been nearly two weeks since he'd requested time to think about what Judai had told him, and despite meticulously trying to pick it apart piece by piece, he couldn't find an answer. He just didn't know how he felt about Judai or whether or not he liked him back. It should have been pretty obvious, shouldn't it have? He should know whether he did or didn't like the other romantically, but he didn't, and it was getting to the point that even he had to admit defeat and call for outside help.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard the vehicles pulling up to join his. At least he'd been expecting them. It never took either of them long to get there when he asked them to, unless of course one was out of town.

"You wanted to talk to us?" Crow was the first to speak, joining Yusei on his left while Jack took to his right.

Yusei nodded and glanced at each of them before letting out a long, heavy sigh. He'd been mulling all of this over for a little over a week now and still had little idea of where to go or how to even start this conversation with them. The only reason he'd finally reached out now was because Jack was due to leave on tour in about a week, and he didn't want to get in the way of the other's preparations.

"The night we went to the fair, Judai told me he has a crush on me…" He finally admitted, absentmindedly playing with his gloves while he talked. "I just don't know how to feel about it, or what I should do."

By the looks on their faces, neither of them were expecting that to be the reason he called them to talk. Usually it was something to do with his studies or needing to vent about something duel related if not request they help him with a project he was working on. Even he wasn't so sure about this. Relationships weren't exactly something he sought out or knew much about to begin with.

"Wait, he has a crush on you?" Jack demanded, folding his arms and frowning a bit. His brows furrowed in either disapproval or thought. It was difficult to tell with him.

Crow was the one to shake his head and grin at the both of them. "Neither of you noticed until now? Geeze. I thought for sure you'd have gotten the hint, Yusei, after you told me about that one Saturday he lent you his jacket."

"He lent you his _jacket_?!" Jack now sounded outraged, looking between them both.

"Calm down," Crow chastised, rolling his eyes.

"It was cold," Yusei defended himself, turning back to look over the city. Protecting it was easy compared to this. Just duel and fight the corruption around him. Hell, even his classes were easier to think about than this. Maybe Jack and Crow weren't the best people to ask about this kind of thing.

A hand on his head and messing up his hair made Yusei try to duck down and away only to nearly knock into Crow who'd come up on his other side.

"Yusei, listen up," Jack commanded, also leaning with him over the railing and watching the city below them. "While I'm upset you weren't the one to give up your jacket to him, because I thought you were more of a gentleman than that, I do want you to know this. I didn't know Carly liked me until she'd been murdered by Divine. She'd never told me, and I was too busy being prideful and mad at you for dethroning me not once but twice. I didn't even know I liked her until I really thought about it and thought about how it felt to lose her. So, how do you feel about Judai? What if he died tomorrow?"

Count on Jack to take the dramatic approach. Yusei's entire chest seemed to clench at the thought or mention of Judai just dropping dead so suddenly, though the feeling wasn't unfamiliar. He felt this way anytime he considered his friends' deaths or had nightmares of causing another Zero Reverse like the one Rowan caused. His frown deepened as he kept his gaze fixed away from the other two.

"I don't want him to die," Yusei muttered. "He's my friend, just like you two are. I would do everything I could to keep that from happening."

"Okay, we figured that much, but is he really just your friend?" Crow pressed, catching on to Jack's tactic. "How does he make you feel?"

"I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you both. I don't know how he makes me feel or what I should do." Yusei lowered his head and closed his eyes. He still felt just as confused as he did that night when Judai had confessed to him.

He felt a hand on each shoulder and knew that they were waiting for him to elaborate or give them more information while making sure he didn't just end up thinking everything to himself without saying a word to them.

"When he told me he had a crush on me, we'd been talking about whether or not he wanted to go back to his timeline." Yusei began. "The thought of him leaving upset me a lot. I didn't want him to, and I still don't. He's a wonderful duelist and a good friend. I enjoy his company a lot. I just don't know how to tell if I like him like he likes me, and I don't want to hurt him."

"Yusei, if you don't like him, you don't like him." Crow pointed out, removing his hand now that the other was talking again. "You don't have to. No one ever said you did. I mean, you and Aki are pretty close, but still just friends and all of us were convinced you both were dating."

"It wouldn't have worked even if we wanted to. She wanted to go to Germany to study medicine, and I still didn't know what I wanted to do yet." Yusei felt his cheeks warm at the thought of his and Aki's date. Skating with her had been fun, but their interests took them on different paths and they'd both come to terms with that after Aki left. "Besides that, I'm aware of that fact…"

"Then what's stopping you from making a decision? You can't just think about it forever, you know. That's not fair to him." Jack said next, also taking his hand back.

"What do you both think of him?" Yusei asked, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He didn't feel like he was getting anywhere with this conversation. If anything, it was only confusing him more.

"Our opinions of him aren't the important ones," Jack grinned, shaking his head. "I personally think he's hyper and headstrong. He's stubborn, but I respect him as a duelist."

"I _really_ like that he has you one a mostly regular sleeping schedule now," Crow laughed, his eyes glinting playfully as he knew that particular point still irritated Yusei. "Seriously though, I like him, personally. He's fun to hang around with and he's managed to drag you out of the house. That takes some honest skill."

"Fun and games aside, Yusei, do you even like other guys?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Have you ever had a crush on another guy?"

"I…"

"Before you answer, man, I hope you know we're perfectly fine if you do." Crow interrupted. "And you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

If Yusei felt flustered earlier thinking about how he and Aki almost dated, his face must have been a bright red at that point. He'd never given it much thought before at all. Liking girls? That was easy. That was expected, considered normal. It just felt like a given. But liking other guys was different. Maybe his gaze had lingered on a few, and perhaps he'd preferred it when he was with Bruno. Maybe his heart skipped a beat every time Judai smiled, but he didn't think of it like that at all.

"I don't know," he muttered, much quieter than earlier. His head was just about to feel like it was going to crack from how hard he was trying to find an answer along with everything else he was questioning about himself and what to do about Judai. He swore it started to when he felt something hard nudge up against his shoulder, making him look up to see Jack offering him his helmet.

"Get your ass on the bike. We're going for a ride. You can clear your head and think about everything that way. No obligations to talk to anyone. No more questions." The blonde offered, already leaving him to get his things.

"Yeah, come on. A ride will give you space to think about this, and I think we all know you do your best thinking behind the wheel." Crow agreed, running over to Black Bird and hopping on.

A smile relaxed Yusei's expression. He hadn't realized how tense he'd been up until that point. This is why he went to them. Jack and Crow seemed to understand what he needed more than him sometimes, and he only hoped he was able to help them in the same ways.

Slipping on his helmet, he climbed onto his bike and let Jack take the lead, choosing instead to file in behind him so he could mindlessly follow without paying too close attention to what turns to take. He trusted the other two to keep him in line and protect him from being too distracted. If anything, they were most likely going to drive around the duel tracks, so they wouldn't have to worry about traffic or other vehicles. Just a long ride back and forth between Satellite and Neo Domino over the water.

-.-

"Feel a little better?" Jack asked when they finally pulled back up to Martha's.

Yusei nodded, stepping off his bike and smiling to them both. "I think so. I admit, I'm still a bit confused, but my head doesn't feel so muddled anymore."

"You know, have you tried talking to Aki yet? She's usually pretty good at understanding how you're feeling." Crow pointed out.

"You both are the first I've gone to. I think she'll have time here in a bit to talk." He explained, taking off his helmet. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Yusei," Crow grinned and sat up a bit straighter in his runner.

"If he hurts you or tries to pressure you into anything, let me know. I'll pound him into the ground for you." Jack assured, nodding to him before taking off.

"Jeez, always so dramatic. Though, seriously, Yusei. If Judai does anything, let us know first." Crow insisted before following the blonde's lead and driving away.

Yusei shook his head a bit at their antics and retreated back inside. If he wanted to talk to Aki, he'd need to get to his laptop quick. He wasn't sure if she'd be at lunch yet or not, and even then, he knew he'd only have about an hour to talk to her before her next classes started.

He grabbed his laptop and took it out to the garage, settling down at the bench out there and putting on his headset. His pulse thundered in his ears while he listened to little musical dial tone playing.

"Yusei?" Aki had a sandwich in one hand and it looked like she was doing some kind of either mathematics or chemistry homework. "This is unexpected. Are you alright? You're not in your room."

"I'm alright, Aki," he reassured, hoping his smile matched his words. "I've just run into a bit of a wall, and I'm having trouble getting over it."

She looked a bit more closely at him on her screen before closing her book and putting down the sandwich, turning to face him fully. "What is it Yusei? I can practically feel your anxiety from here."

She really could read him like an open book. It was one of the things he appreciated most about having her as a friend. He didn't really have to say much for her to understand which saved him quite a bit of trying to put more confusing emotions into words. This, however, he knew he'd need to explain.

Yusei went over every detail of that night with her, perhaps leaving out a few minor details such as nearly crying, and waited for her to take it all in. Her silence wasn't too worrying. She sometimes needed time to organize what she wanted to say.

"Tell me again how it made you feel to hear him say that?" Aki requested, hand on her chin in thought. She still had her gaze fixed on him, warm and understanding.

"I already said I don't know how I feel about it, Aki. I was surprised when he said it, then…" his voice trailed off as he realized he didn't quite want to admit how he'd felt after the initial shock. There would be no point of calling Aki though if he didn't try. "I think I was scared."

Admitting it out loud made him want to curl into himself and hide from everyone. He'd faced countless terrors and horrors, but this, a simple confession, had scared him. It wasn't a haunted house kind of scared though. It was more of a silent, freezing kind.

"Yusei, why were you scared? Has Judai done anything to make you nervous? Do you not know how to tell him you don't feel the same?" She offered, now turning to face him.

"That's a pretty big decision to make, don't you think? And on the spot as well… I think it overwhelmed me, and no. Well, I mean he's done plenty of things that make me anxious, but not in a negative way. I don't know if I feel the same or not." He groaned, folding his arms and burying his head in them. "That's why I've been talking to you, Martha, Jack and Crow. I don't know how I feel."

"None of us can tell you that, Yusei." Aki pointed out, laughing softly. "Though I think I understand. I guess, I need to know, do you like other men? I know you liked me for a while. I like you too, but have you ever liked anyone else?"

"Jack and Crow asked the same thing," he sighed, lifting his head enough to look at her. "I've never really seen a reason that I shouldn't. People are people. It's what's inside that should matter."

"Philosophy aside, Yusei. Come on. Simple yes or no. Do you like other men?" Aki reworded though she figured she knew the answer.

Yusei half-heartedly glared at her for taking away his normal escape route. He'd been asking himself this question since he'd told Judai he wanted time to think. He'd never really looked at another man like that before, though, he didn't see a problem with anyone doing so. Well, that might be a lie. There had been this guy who he looked up to quite a bit at the orphanage. And then of course there was him, but he didn't really like to think about that much anymore. But despite all of that, he still liked and had crushes on women, so maybe he didn't feel that way about other men.

"Maybe?" He offered up, sighing heavily. "But I still like women and-"

"Yusei," Aki cut in, knowing exactly where this would go if she let him finish that thought. "Before you ramble your way into a corner, you do realize it's okay to like both, right?"

. . .

"Yusei?"

"It's alright?" He asked dumbly. He wasn't sure what kind of face he was making, but it made Aki laugh brightly as she nodded to him.

"Yes, Yusei. It's perfectly fine and normal. If you need a word for it, it's called being bisexual." She explained, shaking her head in amusement at him. "I'm surprised you didn't know about it. I figured you would have run into it by now."

"Okay, well, regardless, even if it's fine and normal, I still don't know how I feel about Judai." Yusei redirected the conversation back to the whole point of this. While that did help, it didn't actually help him with what he should decide in regard to what to do about Judai's feelings for him.

Aki leaned back in her chair and nodded, "I know, I know. It helps to know though. How about a couple yes or noes? Does he make you happy?"

This was usually how they helped each other with their homework. Boil the hard questions down to simpler, smaller questions. It worked for college, why shouldn't it work for this? Yusei straightened up and thought about it before nodding.

"Yes."

"Do you feel safe around him?"

"Mostly, so yes."

"Does he look handsome to you?"

"Aki…"

"Come on, it's important." She insisted, actually completely serious.

"Alright, fine." Yusei grumbled, feeling his cheeks warm as he thought about Judai's appearance. He could imagine that bright smile and how his eyes lit up when they'd go out to do something or duel. Despite how he looked too, he wasn't just skin and bone. He was surprisingly strong for his stature. "…Yes."

"Does he ever make you upset?"

Yusei frowned at this one, but reluctantly nodded. "Yes." He was still irritated at being treated like a child and forced to have a loose bedtime. Then there was the way the other occasionally just didn't seem to understand why Yusei would need to study because he never studied at his school and did fine.

"Alright, last one, will you be okay if it doesn't work out?"

This question caught him off guard and by her smile, he knew she expected it to. What did she mean if it didn't work out? Them being in a relationship hasn't even happened yet, if it were going to happen.

"Not all relationships work out, Yusei, and that's fine. Even you should know that from past friendships. Dating him doesn't mean you're committing to marrying him and dying with him just yet. That's something you'll have to think about later on if you both get more serious. Right now, do you think you would both still be friends or at least content with each other if you both broke up?" She explained for him. "While it's fine if it's nasty at the time, no one wants to see both of you hate each other because you both broke up."

He hadn't really thought about it that way at all. Realizing that he didn't actually have to commit to something as permanent as marriage was actually a surprising weight off his shoulders. While he still didn't like to think about the end of something that hadn't begun, he really couldn't see him and Judai falling out on horrible terms. If anything, he could practically hear Judai laugh it off and tell him that it was fine, and they could be friends again when they were ready. Then again, it might not go that cheerfully, but he still couldn't imagine them being so upset with each other that they never recovered even their friendship.

"…Yes. I think we would be okay." Yusei finally answered, feeling a bit of nervous excitement replace his earlier confusion and tighten his chest a little.

Aki smiled warmly and picked up her abandoned lunch. "I think you should go for it then. Date him for a while, see if it works out. If it doesn't, then, okay. At least you tried."

He nodded and smiled back, relieved that he finally had an answer. "Thank you, Aki."

She nodded, looking up at something behind her screen. "And just in time too. I have to finish this and get to my next class soon. Try to tell him soon, Yusei. The poor thing's probably been worrying about this all week."

"I will. Have a good class." Yusei promised, waving a bit to her before his screen went back to the home page of the messaging platform and he let himself completely fall limp back into his chair.

As happy as he was to finally have an answer for himself, there was still another problem to be dealt with. How the hell was he going to tell Judai?

* * *

 **Kitana:** **This chapter was very Yusei-centric, but I promise Judai will return next chapter. (He kinda has to or else Yusei won't have anyone to confess too...)  
I've always loved Yusei relying on Jack and Crow as siblings and my faithshipping heart wanted to touch on what happened between him and Aki and show that they're still very close. Just obviously not dating close. **

**As always, thanks for reading! Authors are nothing without readers.**

 **Reviews and favorites/follows greatly appreciated!**

 **Questions? Find me at kitana-lunara on tumblr**


	11. Confess

To say the last two weeks had been hell would have been the understatement of the century for Judai, and that was saying something considering he'd literally been to a version of hell in the duel monsters' spirit realm. Ever since Yusei had requested time to think about what he'd said, things had felt different. Yusei was quieter, more withdrawn and was paying very little attention to him outside of the obligatory greetings and maybe a small conversation here and there about the weather and what each of them had done that day. At the very least, Yusei had honored their Saturday ritual of going out and doing something together, even if it had only been a walk to the movies, homemade food after in the park and a walk home.

He swore, Yusei was purposefully finding things to do so he wouldn't have to talk to him. Suddenly, he was working in the garage more, or at least it seemed like it. He also seemed to have more and more homework or online exams to take. Then there were what he swore were extra shifts at work. Martha had given him a funny look when he complained about it to her. Maybe it had always been this way, but he was hyper away of it now that he was anticipating the moment Yusei would tell him what conclusion he'd come to.

The hours Yusei was gone at school were filled with pacing and questioning whether he'd done the right thing or not. Yubel reminded him that it was better he knew rather than never know at all. Haou told him to grow a pair and knock off his fretting.

He just wanted, no needed, to know what Yusei was thinking about. Had he found his answer and just hadn't figured out how to tell him? What if his conclusion was that he didn't feel the same and that he was disgusted with Judai, but Yusei, being the kind and generous person he was, just couldn't figure out a nice way to say that?

' _You're going to worry yourself sick at this rate.'_ Yubel scolded him, folding their arms as they watched Judai go back and forth in the tiny room he and Yusei shared. _'He'll come to you in his own time.'_

' _Fuck him. Let's go back. If he cared about you, he would have said so already.'_ Haou bit in the back corner of his mind he'd been banished to for such unhelpful comments.

"Shut up," Judai growled quietly, further trying to suppress the angry ruler. It was hard enough to worry and overthink on his own. He didn't need him taking up his mental space at the moment.

He heard Yusei's runner return and quickly stepped over and glanced out the window to see him talking to Jack and Crow outside. Yusei's back was to the house, but the other two seemed in good spirits. At least they were smiling. He wondered just what they were talking about. Was it about him? No, that couldn't be it. He was being too self-absorbed. They were probably just discussing when they would meet up next.

He quickly ducked under the window once he noticed Yusei starting to turn around to head inside. It really wouldn't be good to be caught spying on him like this. If Yusei didn't already hate him, he was sure that would at least push him closer to that conclusion. After a few moments, he cautiously peered back outside, to see no one there. He was just about to get up to nonchalantly walk into the kitchen for a glass of water he didn't need just to see if Yusei had come inside and maybe ask him about his day with Jack and Crow when the person he wanted to see darted into the room, snagged his laptop and ran off without so much as a word or glance to show he noticed Judai there. Judai didn't even get a chance to register he was there before he was gone again.

"…Dammit," the brunette muttered under his breath, shaking his head and looking back out the window up at the sky. Just what was he doing? Perhaps Haou was onto something. Going back to his timeline might not be a bad idea. Sure, Yusei would be torn up about it, or at least he seemed to be torn up by the thought of it when they'd talked initially, but that could have changed now that Judai confessed. Then again, it might not have.

Yusei seemed to be very much so the look before you leap kind of person. Maybe he was just taking extra time, so he could analyze everything about this and decide from there. Maybe he was freaking out over nothing.

He wandered out to the living room and flopped himself down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. He needed to start doing something to keep his mind busy. Really, he has been a freeloader here since he appeared at Martha's doorstep. He should go out, get a job or something and contribute more to the house. It would at least keep his mind off his Yusei predicament. But what could he do?

He'd always done odd jobs and temporary gigs while traveling. Nothing ever lasted more than a few months at most, and he really doubted he could use those people, or anyone he'd known before, has references for a new job considering he was displaced in time by about 40 years. He really wanted to keep doing what he always did and help people with abilities like his, but he never charged for that and he didn't want to start now. Maybe he could just try for a couple odd jobs to at least be able to put something on his resume for the future. The only problem would be proof of existence. He didn't have any kind of identification or records aside from his birth certificate, and that already wasn't a great option for the same reason he couldn't use his previous jobs as references.

 _You could always just try to get in without ID._ Yubel suggested. _It wouldn't be the first time._

 _'True, but that's still a lot of effort and things might be stricter now. Besides, if I get caught, Yusei and Martha would have to deal with that too, not just me._ '

 _I suppose you're right. So, what do you want to do?_

' _I…have no idea, but I think I know where to start.'_

Judai went and got his laptop, settling back on the couch and starting to browse through several sites. His goal was to at least figure out what jobs he could get without any references or identification. He doubted there were very many, but there had to at least be something.

The hours ticked by much slower than he would have liked, but at least by the time Martha had announced that dinner was ready, he had a small list of places to start looking.

They all kept up light conversations with one another while they ate, but Judai couldn't help noticing something seemed different with Yusei. His mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely, but he didn't have a slight frown on his face like he always did when it was school related. Marhta also wasn't asking him about it like she normally would. Judai did his best not to think about it too much or look into it more than was necessary, but it was so hard when Yusei kept staring off into space or quickly glancing at him only to look away.

By the time dinner was over and they were done cleaning up, Judai was about to lose it, but Yusei beat him to it.

"Hey, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Yusei asked once he put the last plate away.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Judai chirped all too excitedly. Did he finally have an answer for him? Did he really want to know?

He followed Yusei outside and they both sat down on the bench bellow an old tree. Autumn had already almost lost its grip on the weather to winter, but the sun was shining enough that it wasn't unbearable to be outside in just their jackets.

Judai waited for Yusei to speak for as long as he could, but the longer the silence drew out, the more anxious he felt. He didn't know what Yusei wanted to talk about but considering this was the first time he'd requested his presence and attention since he confessed, he was pretty convinced it was to tell him the conclusion he'd come to.

"Uhm, Yusei? What did you want to talk about?" Judai asked when he finally couldn't take it anymore. He had to know.

Yusei jumped a little but shook his head and smiled nervously at him. "I'm sorry. I was collecting my thoughts. I don't know how to start, and I wasn't really thinking when I asked to talk to you earlier."

Judai nodded and leaned back into the bench. "Oh, okay. Take your time, man."

He watched Yusei's eyes darken in relief and the mechanic turned his attention back to the ground in front of him as the gears started working in his head again. As much as he was glad Yusei was thinking carefully about this, but it wasn't helping his anxiety towards the situation at all.

Yusei took a slow, deep breath before speaking up, "Yuki-san…I'm sorry."

This was it. He was rejecting him. Judai felt his chest tighten horribly and he wished he could tear his gaze away from Yusei so he could hide the tears welling up in his eyes. No. He couldn't cry. He refused to cry. This was always going to be a possibility. There was always the risk of this outcome.

"I didn't know what to think when you confessed to me. I had been so focused on my fear of losing you, that hearing that honestly threw me a little." Yusei continued on, oblivious to Judai's distress because he was still staring at the ground. "Then, whenever I tried to think of how I felt about you and what it would mean one way or the other, I got pretty overwhelmed, but I-… Judai, I think I feel the same way. I like you, like you."

His voice had dropped down to a whisper in his embarrassment and a dark blush heated his cheeks. He'd actually said it. The words were out of his mouth and yet…there was no response. Judai was silent beside him. What was wrong? He had expected a much more excited and loud response. It was half of why he'd asked to talk to Judai outside of all places despite the chilly temperatures.

Yusei chanced a glance over to the other and nearly did a double take. Massive crocodile tears were rolling down Judai's cheeks and it was hard to read his expression.

"J-Judai, I'm sorry. Was it something I said? I didn't-"

"Shut up." Judai cut him off and threw his arms around him, pulling him into one of the tightest hugs he's ever received. "Just shut up. Don't apologize you idiot."

Yusei tried to weasel out of his grip. He didn't like this. Both being hugged so tightly and Judai crying were making him very uncomfortable. Was he crying because he'd messed up? Did he change his mind? If so, why was he hugging him?

"You didn't say anything wrong. I just thought you were going to say you hated me when you started with my last name and then started apologizing." Judai finally explained, squeezing the other even more if it were possible. "But you didn't and I'm glad. Thank you… I'm really happy you feel the same."

Yusei was able to relax a little hearing that, but he still continued his struggles and managed to get his arms up and push gently on Judai's chest to more firmly request being released. This time, the brunette listened and let him go. He sat back and laughed a little while he dried his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was just so relieved." Judai chuckled, smiling much more easily now. Excitement and joy were practically overflowing from him. Yusei liked him too! He-… wait. "So…wait, what now?"

"What do you mean, what now?" Yusei asked, furrowing his brow a little in a look of confusion.

"Well…does this mean we're, you know…" Judai trailed off, hoping Yusei would connect the dots, but he continued to look at him with that blank sapphire stare. "Like, are you my…boyfriend now?"

Oh. That's what he meant. Yusei felt his cheeks get hot again at the thought. Even hearing the word made him tense a little. Boyfriends? Was that what they were? In all fairness, they had both just come to the conclusion that they liked each other as more than friends. Boyfriends seemed like the next logical step. He couldn't help feeling anxious about the new title though. He'd never really been in a serious relationship before…well, that was a lie. There were two before, but this still somehow felt different.

"I think so?" Yusei finally agreed. "I mean, that's what two people who like each other as more than friends are, right?"

"Why are you asking me?!" Judai blurted out, blushing furiously himself.

"You asked me!" Yusei retorted, a bit at a loss over this.

"Well, I asked you first, so you have to answer." Judai countered. "Yusei Fudo will you be my boyfriend?"

"You sound like you're asking me to marry you," he muttered, leaning away from him and folding his arms over his chest. His pulse was pounding in his ears and he swore his entire face and neck were as red as Judai's jacket.

Judai's shoulders dropped as he stared at him dumbfoundedly, "well how else am I supposed to ask?"

"I don't know, maybe don't use my full name?" Yusei tried. "Why not something like, will you go out with me?"

"Yes."

Yusei stared blankly at him, not quite keeping up with what had just happened. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you." Judai clarified, nudging him with his elbow. He let out a relieved laugh when Yusei nudged him back and it started to sink in that this was actually happening. He'd be so worried about it, and he'd somehow ended up with the most favorable outcome. Things like this hardly ever happened for him. Usually, this was the part where someone or something tried to end the world, taking away what he'd hoped for or turning it against him. There was honestly still a chance it could happen, but for the time being, at least he'd enjoy this moment. He wanted to remember this.

Yusei's eyes were bright, glittering in the evening sun, and he honestly looked like the weight of the world had fallen off his shoulders at finally having this off his chest. His laugh, though much too quiet for Judai's taste, was still such a bright and beautiful sound. There was a moment Judai thought he saw the same hesitation cross his eyes, probably thinking the same about his own luck, but he was glad it didn't stick around. Instead, once their laughter died down, a faint blush settled itself across the mechanic's cheeks and he looked away from him towards the setting sun.

"Now what?"

* * *

 **Kitana:**  
 **School tried to murder me, but I'm finally on break and able to take some time for myself. Which means writing, drawing and catching pokemon to my heart's content. I know this one's rough around the edges and probably not as refined as some of my other chapters, (heck, I know it's not edited), but it feels complete and it doesn't feel like it should be messed with any more. I want to move on from it, and so I shall.  
There are more important things in store for these boys than this. It's time I got to writing that. **

**As always,**

 **Thank you so much for reading, following/faving and reviewing!**


	12. Gotta Escape!

For the time being, now what was to go back inside and pretend for now that nothing had happened or changed between them. At least in front of Martha until they'd both established just what their newfound relationship would mean and where they intended to go with it. That was the reasoning Yusei put forth, though he was honestly buying time to figure out how to tell Martha about this. He knew she wouldn't care or mind, but her reaction still worried him. He didn't want her to suddenly treat Judai differently or demand they somehow split rooms despite there being nowhere else for Judai to sleep.

So, for now, the plan was to behave normally at home until Yusei decided how to tell her. He had until Saturday since Judai didn't want to hide anything from her for too long and made the fair point that she'd possibly be hurt or upset they didn't tell her if it dragged on too long.

"So, what should we do this Saturday?" Judai asked while Yusei put his laptop away and prepared his bag for school the next day. "I mean, we could probably make Saturday date night."

"We could do that." Yusei agreed, not looking up from his task. He had to find his other notebook. Where had he left it? "Should we really do anything different though? I mean, when Crow can't come, it's practically like we're out on a date anyway."

"Of course we should do something different, silly." Judai shook his head and stretch across the floor without necessarily leaving his bed, picking up a black notebook behind Yusei and nudging his shoulder with it "If you think about it, we actually really don't know much of anything about each other beyond the fact that you're really cute and I really like being around you." Judai confessed, absolutely loving the freedom to say this to his face. "Oh, and you're a pretty good duelist."

Yusei thanked him for the notebook and tucked it away into his bag only to recoil a little from Judai and scrunch his face up. Now that his bag was packed, he gave the brunette his full attention. "Cute? I am not cute."

"You're pretty adorable, Yusei," Judai insisted, retreating back onto his bed and sitting up straight with a wide grin. He could already tell he'd struck a chord and wanted to see how far he'd go with it.

"I am not. How am I even remotely cute or adorable?" Yusei demanded, sitting at the edge of his own bed. He glanced at the mirror in the room and tilted his head as if trying to see whatever Judai was talking about. "I'm not a girl."

"You don't have to be a girl to be cute or adorable for one. Two, have you looked in the mirror whenever you're working on something? It's precious." Judai pressed, barely holding back a laugh when Yusei's cheeks flushed a bright red and his eyes darted away from his reflection. "Besides that, you just are. There's no arguing it."

Yusei rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'll still have to respectfully disagree. If anything, you're the cute one between the two of us. Bubbly personality, outgoing, makes friends easily…"

"Aw, thank you," Judai laughed brightly, mostly at himself though he did find their current conversation amusing. "There, see? I've learned something new about you. You don't like being called cute."

"And you don't seem to mind it," Yusei pitched in with a small smile. "Alright, alright. I see your point. We should do something where we can learn more about one another beyond dueling and that you're unfairly good at DDR. We could just go out to eat or head to the river and just talk."

"We could…" Judai trailed off, agreeing half-heartedly. The only problem with this suggestion though was that they'd already done things like that. He wanted their first date to be special. It should be unique and memorable but also something they could talk throughout. That immediately tossed movies off the list. Besides, how could a movie date be unforgettable?

Yusei thought it over for a minute or two, pulling out his phone to look up some suggestions. Most were unhelpful but there were a couple that sparked an idea or two. "Alright, do you want to do something physically active or more laid back? I know a good roller-skating rink or we could go to the museum or the zoo."

"Roller-skating could be fun, but I don't know." He shook his head a little. It didn't have that ring to it. As much fun as it sounded like it would be, he didn't want to spend most of their first date on his butt or tripping face first into things. Maybe their second when he was mostly sure Yusei wasn't going to abandon him for it. The museum or the zoo could be fun too, but it didn't feel right either. "Hang on, give me a sec."

He pulled out his phone as well and started scrolling through a few lists of date suggestions, sighing a little as most of them were already things they'd either done or suggested. He almost closed it down and gave up when the last one crossed the screen. It was perfect.

He wasted no time in hopping from his bed to Yusei's, doing little to contain his excitement. "Yusei, Yusei! Pretty please, can we do an escape room?"

Yusei leaned away from Judai at first, making a mental note that he'd have to get used to the other being so close and probably so suddenly if they were going to be together.

"An escape room? I've heard of those, but I haven't really looked into them at all." Yusei admitted, but he started to look for places on his phone anyway. "Looks like there's one downtown. It's got three options. An infirmary, an operating room and a rec room."

Judai looked over his shoulder as he scrolled through each and read through the short little snippets about the rooms. It seemed that they were divided into levels; easy, medium and hard. All of them looked like such fun though. It was hard to pick.

"Let's try the operating room." Judai finally announced, looking up at Yusei with bright eyes. "We can save people from medical malpractice by finding the corrupt doctor's files and escaping."

"That one sounds interesting enough. It's probably my favorite option out of the three." Yusei agreed, smiling a bit as he retrieved his laptop out of his bag so he could fill out the online reservation. "The time limit on that one is 2 hours. We could schedule it later in the day and eat first or do you want to do early evening and eat after?"

"Let's eat after. That way we can celebrate our victory!" He chirped.

 _Or so you both have plenty of time to discuss your failure._ Haou taunted from the back of his head. When he escaped his little time out corner, Judai really wasn't sure, but he mentally requested Yubel shove him back into it.

"It's settled then," Yusei announced, turning off and putting away his computer once more. "We'll escape from the operating room at 6 on Saturday and then go eat."

"Yes! I can't wait." Judai really hoped it would be as much fun as he'd heard. Not just for the sake of their date. Escape rooms were really popular in his time, but he'd never been able to make it to one. Of course, he could have invited all of his Duel Academy friends and he probably should have, they would have had a blast, but he never got around to it and it always felt like everyone was too busy or didn't have time for something that felt trivial compared to everything else going on in their lives.

Judai shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts starting to bubble up and returned to his bed instead. "Well, you've got class tomorrow and I promised Martha I'd help clean the house tomorrow. Let's get some sleep. Okay?"

"Right. Goodnight, Judai." Yusei replied. He laid down after shutting off the light for them and immediately found himself drowning with the sudden realization he had no idea what he'd just gotten himself into. He had asked Judai out, or Judai had asked him, that part was still really confusing to him. Either way, he now had a boyfriend. He felt a rush of excitement at the thought, but all the same his chest tightened in fear and anxiety. What was he supposed to do now? A relationship was never something he saw himself having. It was always a 'one day' kind of thought, never something he gave much thought into actually having or pursuing. Now, he had not only spent weeks mulling over whether or not he wanted this, but he had decided he did and he was in a relationship.

Rolling over, he peered through the darkness at the already snoring man who he was now dating. Judai had traveled through time, abandoning everything he knew and all his family and friends to see him and visit him. Of course, at the time it was supposed to just be that, a visit. Now, Judai had confessed he didn't want to go back if it meant leaving Yusei, and he himself didn't know how he felt about that still. He was beyond flattered and he still didn't want Judai to go back. Hell, he took two weeks to mull it over and decide that he returned his feelings and wanted him to stay. It's just…he didn't understand why. What was so special about him that Judai was willing to give everything up? Maybe he'd ask him over dinner.

Saturday came much faster than either of them anticipated, and it wasn't long before Judai found himself waiting at the base of the stairs for Yusei. He'd called dibs on first shower, but almost immediately regretted his decision. Now, it just meant that he got to stand awkwardly downstairs waiting for him with Martha. Yusei had cut it terribly close in telling her they were dating now, and by close, Judai literally meant he told her seconds before Judai had threatened to do so himself. Which meant, she'd just found out today. The day they chose to have their first date…maybe all of 30 minutes before they were supposed to leave. She seemed to have taken it all well and good while Yusei was there, but after his shower and he was alone with her, he'd gotten a lengthy rundown that, to make a long scary conversation short, if he hurt Yusei, he wasn't going to ever see the light of day again. He was still trying to calm Yubel down from those threats.

"You clean up nicely," Yusei's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and watching him come down the hall slipping on his jacket made Judai's heart catch in his throat.

He'd honestly just been expecting him to wear his usual outfit: jeans, black and red tank top and his signature blue jacket, but no. Instead, Yusei had on a nice pair of pants, grey t-shirt and had topped it off with a smooth black jacket. He'd even somehow tamed his hair down into a low ponytail which seemed infuriated that he'd even dared do such a thing to it and flared out in attempts to escape its new bond.

"Y-Your hair…" It was all he could think to say. Everything else would probably get him back handed by Martha.

Yusei smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Do you not like it? I can take it out. It's usually flat when it's wet, so I thought I'd try something different?"

"No, no!" He quickly recovered, shaking his head and smiling. "Please, don't take it out. I like it. It looks really good on you. It's just not what I'm used to at all. I didn't know it could lay flat to begin with and now I'm really concerned about your hair product bills." That earned him a laugh from both Yusei and Martha.

"Just don't get into any trouble that I have to bail you boys out from. Okay?" Martha instructed while they made their way to the door. "I really don't think your being friends with Ushio will change anything, Yusei."

"No, if anything I think he'd rather enjoy putting me behind bars again." Yusei mused, bidding her farewell before going out to his bike.

Judai wanted to ask him what he meant, but Yusei was already out the door leaving him to hurry and slip on his shoes to keep up. After seeing Yusei all dressed up, he was bit embarrassed to only have traded out his t-shirt for his high necked black long sleeve. Then again, he really didn't have any other clothes on him. His bag was mostly taken up by Pharaoh, his cards and food for the both of them. Maybe a few souvenirs and gifts from people he helped, but really, clothes weren't that big of a priority.

Shaking his head, he followed Yusei out and made quick work of slipping on the spare helmet and sliding into place behind the other. They'd ridden like this several times before now, but suddenly he really wasn't sure if it was alright to hold onto his waist like he'd been doing. He knew Yusei didn't care much for close contact, but it had been alright before, so maybe it was still okay?

"Is something wrong? Are you ready?" Yusei asked, looking back at him as best he could around the helmet.

"O-Oh, right. Yeah, I'm ready. Nothing's wrong." Judai quickly replied, wrapping his arms around Yusei's waist and deciding that if the other minded he would probably tell him. "You're not the only one allowed to get lost in thought, you know."

Yusei smiled at that and kicked off the ground, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards their destination. The wind raced past them, drowning out any conversation they might have tried to hold and chilling both of them through their jackets. If anything, Judai was glad he was able to press himself flush up against Yusei and use him as a shield against the cold.

He watched the city lights flash by, barely containing his excitement about all of this. He could hardly believe it. He was actually on a date with Yusei. This wasn't a dream, and if it was, he didn't want to wake up anytime soon. Somehow, he'd managed to convince both the spirits in him to stay on the outer edges of his soul and consciousness for the entirety of tonight except in the unlikely event he actually needed them, but it was still up to him to call them back if that happened. It was so rare he got this kind of freedom of thought to himself, and as much as he didn't mind them most days, it was still nice to have a break.

He felt Yusei's weight shift back a bit and the wind lessen as they slowed down to the downtown speed limit and eventually coasted into a parking space along the curb. The runner was already drawing attention from the people milling down, other people whispering excitedly and elbowing others to draw attention to it.

Yusei didn't even give them a second glance, completely numb to this treatment as he swung the arm up, taking off his helmet and offered his hand to Judai after he'd gotten off. "Let's get going. We should be about 5 minutes early for our reservation."

"Awesome!" Judai excitedly took off his helmet as well before accepting Yusei's hand and stepping off. It was a bit harder for him to ignore the stares and whispers they were getting as he followed Yusei and he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious and like he was under a microscope. "Uhm… you don't think they-"

"Don't pay them any mind. Carly and Mikasa have already worked really hard to make sure that everyone knows that I don't want any publicity or attention from the public, and after dealing with both of them, most seem to leave me alone for the most part. A few bloggers still go a little nuts, but it's to be expected and hardly any of them have any more traction than a handful of nauseating followers." Yusei explained, already guessing what Judai was going to ask about.

He might have been concerned about any crazy theory posts about his relationship with Judai, except most of the tabloids had deemed that the two were simply close friends due to their earlier outings together and the fact that Crow or Jack typically accompanied them as well. His and Judai's appearance together was commonplace now, and he doubted anyone would catch on unless they did anything romantic in public. The thought alone still made Yusei uncomfortable though, so that possibility was highly unlikely. Judai was always full of impulsive surprises, but he respected his wishes against public displays so far and he didn't expect that to change. Besides, Neo Domino was still rather 'don't see don't speak' about their kind of relationship.

"I guess it's just more crowded down here than anywhere else we've been. I just didn't expect this much attention." Judai commented from behind him, sounding amused now that he was reassured there wouldn't be any trouble for them. "So, what's the place called again?"

"Escape Neo Domino," Yusei answered, looking back over his shoulder at him. "They weren't very creative with the name if you ask me."

Judai laughed and jogged a little to walk beside him instead. "Let's hope it's because they used up all their creativity on the puzzles. It wouldn't be any fun if it were easy."

"That's true," he agreed, glancing to the shop windows they passed by in search of the name. "It should be the next door down. I didn't want to park too far away because of the cold."

"You think it's cold?" Judai's eyebrow shot up in amusement. "I mean, I only did when we were driving around because of the wind, but right now it feels pretty nice. Maybe a little chilly, but not bad."

Yusei looked away from him and frowned a little. "I typically run a little cold. Martha says it's because I don't eat enough. Personally, I doubt it."

"Well, she is right about you not eating enough when you're left to your own devices," Judai teased him, nudging him a little with his elbow. "You're practically skin and bone too. Maybe that's why you're always cold."

"I am not just skin and bone, and I'm wearing a jacket." He protested, laughing softly. "Come on, the door's right here. Let's go inside."

Judai grinned up at him, "Why? Cause you're cold?"

Yusei only shook his head and smiled as he pulled open the door and held it for his all too smug boyfriend. He talked to the clerk and let her explain the rules to them and give the background premise for what was going on in the world and why they were the "chosen ones" to save the day. Supposedly this doctor was at the center of an investigation on missing persons. He was suspected of performing Frankenstein type experiments on them. The only problem was there was no proof. Their only hope was to break into his operating room and find his notebook detailing his experiments so they had solid evidence against him.

"Alright! Are you two ready?" She asked, standing up and putting two key cards on the counter with such gusto it was almost contagious.

Judai ate up every bit of it. "Yeah! Let's go stop this guy!" He took up one of the cards and turned to Yusei with a fire in his eyes. "Come on, Yusei."

Yusei thanked the clerk and took his card as well, nodding to Judai. "I don't think we have much choice at this point."

Each card unlocked one of the doors to the escape room. Once they were in the room they were to escape from, the door closed behind them and they heard the locks engage. It wasn't long before a voice crackled over the intercom above them.

"You have 2 hours to find the evidence before the doctor returns and you both become his next victims. Good luck! If you need any clues, please ask. We're here to help. Have fun and once more, the world thanks you."

Their attention to detail was incredible. The operating room was complete with a bloody surgery table with a mannequin on it and all across the floor there were stains of what looked like smeared blood and varying chemicals. In one corner was a medicine cupboard filled with bottles of all sizes. Across from it, a blanket was hung from the ceiling and draped over what looked like another table. There were surgical tools on a tray by the surgery bed and a school model of a human from torso up that had plastic examples of all the organs from eyes to lungs and even the heart. In the back of the room were two partitions in the back of the rooms seeming to cover two doors.

"Jeez, this is much creepier in person than it was looking at it from across the screen." Judai muttered, looking around them and taking it all in. Despite the mannequin though, he was still buzzing with excitement at the challenge of escaping. "Alright, Yusei, let's get looking."

Yusei only nodded in agreement, immediately setting out across the room and taking everything in. The mannequin had a fake heart in its chest, but he couldn't see anything odd about it. There was a digital display attached to the table; however, that showed a weight he discovered was for the mannequin when he pressed his hand on the table. He couldn't see a point to that yet, so he turned his attention to the tools, finding the only one not glued down to be a plastic scalpel. He supposed they couldn't leave a real one. Some people weren't the brightest. Finding nothing else on the table he started to go to the medical mannequin bust.

"Holy shit!" Judai cursed loudly behind him, startling him and he heard the other stumbling.

Yusei whirled around to check on him just in time to see him trip and for the sheet that had been hanging to fall on top of him. "Judai? Are you okay?" He asked, rushing over to go help.

Judai flailed, trying to get the sheet off himself and gasping for air when Yusei finally pulled it off him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, it's just there's another mannequin, but it's…just a head and an arm."

Yusei looked up to the newly revealed second surgery table and sure enough there were just pieces on this table. "Huh… this one has a weight on it too."

"What do you mean?" Judai asked, standing up and folding the sheet up, tossing it under the newly revealed table.

Yusei nodded to the other table. "There's a weight on that one too. Maybe if we find the other pieces to this mannequin, they'll be equal and open something?"

"You're probably right. Just…why did it have to be mannequins?" Judai grumbled, rubbing his arms against an imaginary chill.

"I take it you're not fond of mannequins?" Yusei asked in amusement, smiling at him.

"They're just really creepy, okay?" Judai flushed and turned away from him and the mannequin. "Their eyes are either not there or they're headless, and it's just not okay."

Yusei could only laugh softly at this before they started searching the room for the other mannequin pieces, announcing when they found one or found clues. After searching the whole room, they had only gathered a piece of paper showing two complete mannequins and a single weight, bottles of colored liquid, the torso and several organs from the medical bust. They'd also found two locked doors behind the partitions.

"Hey, Yusei, you said you found a scalpel earlier, right?" Judai asked as they put all their findings on the shelf underneath the medicine cabinet.

"Yeah, it's right here," he put it down next to him, watching curiously as he took it and picked up one of the lungs. "What are you-"

Judai didn't even look at him before stabbing the apparently soft lung and cutting it in half. There were some theatrical blood packets in it which made Yusei cringe, but Judai seemed satisfied with himself. "I found a key!"

"A key? Do you think it's for the doors?" Yusei was a bit confused. How could they escape already if they still didn't have all the pieces to the other mannequin?

"Probably. Only one way to find out."

They both went to the right door first, finding that the key did indeed open the door, but inside was just a dead end. There was just an apparatus on a desk with beakers and more cupboards. There were also three lockers on the back wall with different colors on them.

"Hey, Yusei, check this out!" Judai had already made a b-line for the apparatus, flicking the switch and causing a light to shine across it. "What do you think it's for?"

Yusei looked at it, the beakers and the colored doors for a moment longer before smiling. "Wait right here. I've got an idea."

He returned quickly enough, carrying the bottles of colored liquid and setting them down on the desk. Judai's eyes lit up as he caught on and he started pouring one color into one of the beakers to match the locker door. He put it on the apparatus and turned it on. Sure enough, they heard a click and the door closest to them swung open.

Yusei didn't even have time to register something was falling out of it before a mannequin arm fell from the locker onto him, practically smacking him in the face. He swatted the thing away and jumped back away from it right into Judai.

"Woah, easy there," Judai laughed, hands coming up to catch the other. "I'd give you a hand, but it seems they already have."

Yusei felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, looking over his shoulder at the other. "Oh ha ha, very funny." He couldn't help cracking a smile though and laughing at the stupid joke with Judai until he noticed he was still being held by the other. Standing up straight and ignoring how warm his ears felt, he went to pick up the arm. "Really… they planned that."

"They planned everything in this room, Yusei," Judai pointed out, grinning now as he poured the next color into a new beaker. "Ready to catch the next limb?"

They gathered the legs and lower torso from the next two cabinets and brought them back with them into the next room. Yusei was starting to wonder just what this had to do with finding the files, but he helped Judai put all the pieces of the mannequin onto the table. He looked down at the scale after they were finished and frowned.

"What's the matter? Why didn't it work?" Judai asked, looking between this creepy girl mannequin and the equally creepy male one on the other table.

"Well… it doesn't match." Yusei explained. "The paper I found earlier had weights for each mannequin, but the weights on these two tables don't match it."

They both looked to each other and then to the clock on the wall, counting down their remaining time. They still had 20 minutes left. Where the first hour and a half went, they weren't quite sure. Time really does fly when you're focused on a task.

"Can I see that paper?" Judai asked, looking at him expectantly.

Yusei nodded and walked back to the desk, fishing it out. "Here it is." He handed it back to him.

Judai stared at it, turning it upside down and looking at the back. "Hmm… Is there a black light in here anywhere?"

"Not that I saw. Then again, I wasn't exactly looking for one." He admitted, starting to look around the room again. He walked over to the shelf and on a whim turned on the lamp. With how much light they had in there from the ceiling lights, they hadn't even thought to test it at all. With a slight flicker and electric buzz, a purplish light was shed on the counter.

"Perfect!" Judai walked over and smiled at him. "Yusei, you're a genius."

He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. "I just turned on a lamp, Judai."

When Judai put the paper under the light, marks appeared indicating the weight of each limb except for the head and the left arm. It didn't take long for Yusei to figure out what they had to do and, even though they were just mannequins, he couldn't help the shudder that ran down his spin.

"Dang it. I'm really not good at math like this. Duel monsters I can manage, but this?" Judai frowned, staring at the numbers for a while, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with them.

"Then let me do the math and you move the body parts," Yusei instructed, gently moving into Judai's place with the paper and nodding to the tables. "Hurry, we've only got 15 minutes left before we end up like them."

"Don't say that, man!" Judai shook his head and eyed the mannequins nervously. "…You sure I can't take another shot at those numbers?"

Yusei laughed softly, already staring at them. "No, no. That's alright… Swap their legs for me."

"Please don't say it like that." Judai groaned, doing as he was told. He was actually getting pretty eager to get out of this room. It was giving him the creeps the more and more they explored it and he really hoped the second door was the escape door.

"I don't know how else to direct you, but I've looked it over and we need to swap everything except their hearts." Yusei shrugged and turned off the lamp, going over to help Judai move everything around.

The moment each scale read the proper weight, they heard a click from bellow the first table. Both looked at each other before ducking down to find a safe box under there that had a green light on it. How they'd missed it being there in the first place was actually pretty embarrassing.

"You open it." Judai pushed Yusei in front of him and scooted back.

"H-Hey, why do I have to open everything?" Despite his protest, he opened the safe anyway, finding a different, more ornate key inside and a piece of paper with 4 numbers written on it with a corresponding letter A-D. "I guess this isn't the end…"

"5 minutes remain to escape." The voice came from the intercom. "Please hurry. The doctor is almost home!"

"Shit!" Judai jumped up. "We have to go through the other door."

Yusei didn't need to be told twice, getting up and rushing with Judai to the second door to the left which of course was locked. The new key was too big, but thankfully Judai still had the other key from before. It took a little extra wiggling, but it unlocked this door for them as well. Inside this new room was just a study with a lock box on the desk and one more door.

"The files have to be in there!" The brunette ran over to it and looked it over. All it had was a 10 digit number pad on it. "Alright, let's try this…"

They punched in the numbers in order on the page, but received a red error code instead.

"Judai, the letters. Maybe go in alphabetical order." Yusei suggested, punching in the code his way.

The box lit up green and they quickly opened the safe, finding a journal and a folder full of papers inside. Without a second thought, they each took everything out of the safe and booked it for the door. They unlocked it with the fancier key and ran out just as the lights in the room turned red, indicated they'd only had 1 minute left.

"Congratulations!" The clerk shouted as they exited, making Judai scream in surprise and Yusei jump. "Woops, sorry. I forget that one's one of our more intense rooms. Thank you both for your hard work and finding the doctor's notebooks and even his notes! You've saved a lot of people's lives."

"R-Right. Now who's going to save mine?" Judai whimpered, still coming down from his fright and adrenaline.

They had their picture taken before they left as a memento to prove they actually escaped. The lady even put on a fun boarder that read "just in the nick of time" and showed the time remaining for them to escape had been 56 seconds.

"Dinner?" Yusei asked as they walked out and back into the cold. With the sun down now, the temperature felt like it had dropped a good ten degrees and he was eager to hurry to their next destination.

Judai nodded eagerly, "Yes please. Though I'm not so sure I'm hungry after all of that."

"Must have really gotten to you if you're not hungry," Yusei teased, tossing him his helmet when they got back to his bike.

"We'll see when we get there," Judai replied nervously, putting his helmet back on.

 _Well, now we've got plenty to talk about over dinner, I guess._ He thought to himself, climbing onto the bike and holding onto Yusei again.

* * *

 **Kitana:** **Oof. That was a hard chapter to write if and only if because my only reference for escape rooms is a horror video game series called Zero Escape. (If you haven't played them, please do. They're SO much fun. I've only played 999 and half of Virtue's Last Reward, but I adore them...and I may or may not have an unhealthy fear of doors... oops.) I still had fun writing and editing this chapter though. It gave Yusei a chance to challenge his mind with something other than school and Judai got to watch him get excited over solving puzzles. Win-win tbh.**

 **Thank you all so much for such sweet reviews and for your patience with me and my college schedule!**

 **As always,**

 **Thank you so much for reading/favoriting/following and reviewing! It really makes my day.**


	13. Happy Together

"I can't believe you jumped like that," Judai was practically cackling over his cheeseburger.

Yusei snickered across from him and shook his head, downing some more of his drink so he could reply. "A prosthetic leg fell out of a closet onto my head. What did you expect? At least I didn't scream after uncovering a mannequin."

"It was covered in fake blood!" Judai defended, perhaps a little too loudly. They earned a few stares from a few of the other patrons in the restaurant, but it didn't bother either of them in the slightest.

Each of them laughed over the events of the escape room, exchanging witty comments and teasing one another until it seemed the conversation had died down a little. Yusei could hardly remember the last time he'd spoken so much in a single sitting since he, Jack and Crow last got together. Though, really, he didn't have to do much of the talking with them or with Judai. The brunette across from him was more than happy to fight off the silence and didn't appear to mind too much that Yusei was content listening and only making brief comments from time to time. Now though, they'd fallen into a quiet, comfortable lull, giving the both of them a break to finish up the last of their dinner.

"Judai, what was your time like?" He shook his cup a little to displace some of the ice inside and finished it off. "I only saw it in passing, and… well, it was on fire and in ruins. You've really only ever mentioned your friends a couple times as well."

"For starters, I can assure you it was not on fire all of the time. Just… most of the time." Judai laughed, munching on more French fries. "Anything in particular you'd like to know? It wasn't too different than what's going on now. I mean, it's only be 40ish years. We just didn't have a lot of the technology you have, so no riding duels."

Yusei shrugged, "Alright, just…tell me about yourself then. What was your life like?"

"After I graduated, I traveled the world. I went anywhere and everywhere I could, just searching for people who were struggling. I wanted to help as many as I could, especially after all that I'd done." It didn't seem like Judai was going to elaborate on that, he kept going with an increasingly distant look in his eyes. "I went wherever the wind took me. When Paradox attacked, I'd just left France and was honestly just sightseeing through Italy before trying for my next adventure."

"H-How did you even afford that?" Yusei couldn't imagine traveling the country let alone the world. Transportation was expensive and beyond that hotels or places to stay were another small fortune on top of that.

Judai looked up at and laughed. "Well, I camped out a lot and hitchhiked with those who would let me tag along at the price of a story or a duel. Otherwise, I just… walked. As for placed to stay, camping was great when the weather was good, and when it wasn't, I'd do my best to find shelter. I kept up odd traveling jobs for the most part to pay for things like food and actual hotels when I could. It…wasn't exactly glamorous or anything, but I'm glad gas stations and travel stops have showers you can pay for. Also…it made me happy."

"I see… It sounds very fulfilling." Yusei agreed, offering a half smile. His heart sank a little as he thought about it though. If Judai was used to traveling and being out and about, then how smothering was it living in the small house with Martha and himself and rarely going out into the city?

He felt something warm over his hand and looked up to see Judai had reached across and was smiling brightly at him.

"You want to know what my favorite adventure has been so far though?" He gently moved their hands and intertwined their fingers, holding his hand firmly. "This one. I've fallen pretty hard for you, Yusei. These past couple months getting to know you, and now tonight… It's still just getting started, but I really get the feeling this adventure's going to be the best I've ever had."

Yusei felt his throat close and his face heated up as though a trial engine had blown up in his face. He swallowed thickly and gripped Judai's hand a little tighter. He tried to think of something to say, but his mind came up blank and he dropped his eyes down to their hands instead.

"I… Me too." He smiled softly and rubbed his thumb on Judai's hand. He wished he could think of something to say more than that.

"Come here," Judai left his place across the booth from him and plopped down next to Yusei instead, wrapping an arm around him and keeping his other hand hostage. "You're so cute when you're flustered."

The warmth in his face nearly doubled and Yusei tried to squirm free of the brunette's iron grip, but to no avail.  
"I'm not cute," he huffed angrily once he'd given up on escape though there was no real bite or venom to his words. "We already went over this."

"Mmm, I still beg to differ, but whatever makes you happy." Judai insisted, only letting go of Yusei after a few moments longer. He still kept a grip on his hand though. He wasn't ready to let that go just yet.

"Can you tell me about something else?" Yusei muttered, unsure whether or not he was upset at the loss of contact with him or thankful for it. It did feel just a little colder without that arm around him. "You mentioned when we first met that you could see duel spirits. The only one I've seen was who I think you called Yubel, but that's it. I haven't seen them since. I was just curious. What's it like?"

Judai's entire demeanor shifted. At first, his eyes lit up and he seemed excited, but then it seemed a shadow passed over his brown eyes, turning them from their normal honey color to a darker tone.

Judai leaned his head back and looked up at him, "magical. It's like always having a friend by your side. They've been there for me through everything and have protected me as well." Whatever had been bothering him about it seemed to slowly give way, like a cloud lazily passing over the sun. "For as long as I can remember, I've been able to see them and interact with them. The card spirits were my first friends when I was growing up. There was a time I lost the ability though, and completely forgot I had it." He explained, starting to fidget with a straw wrapper with his free hand. "Then I got winged kuriboh from Yugi, and after that, I could see them again."

"My friend, Luka can see them as well. I think the both of you would get along." Yusei commented. He could only imagine how excited she would be to meet someone who had a similar ability to hers.

"Really? I'd love to meet her." Judai started to smile again and leaned over to rest his head on Yusei's shoulder despite how the other tensed. "Have you really never seen them before Yubel? Not even…sensed their presence or anything?"

Yusei shook his head, trying to look anywhere but at other patrons or Judai, "No, I haven't. At least, not that I'm consciously aware of. The only other spirits I've interacted with were Aki's monsters. She's a physic duelist, so she can manifest them physically when she duels."

"She could? That's amazing. I've been able to do that as well. My monsters have gotten me out of a few tough spots. Especially Neos." He seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, likely reminiscing about close calls. After a time, Judai sat up straight and sighed happily. "Man, I'm stuffed."

"Ready to head home?"

He thought about it for a second. He was having so much fun he really didn't want it all to end just yet, but even he had to admit it was starting to get late. "Can we take the long way?"

"Yeah, of course,"

With that, the pair cleaned up their table and took their leave, returning to the d-wheel and starting on the path back home. Yusei honestly just drove aimlessly with no real sense of direction. His thoughts wandered to the warm feeling in his hand, still seeming to linger despite them letting go. It had been nice, and he'd even been a little reluctant to let go when they got up to leave despite how much he protested physical contact. Speaking of contact, the weight on his back seemed to get a little heavier and he felt Judai either take a deep breath or yawn. It was hard to tell the difference like this.

"Judai?" He asked, trying to look over his shoulder at him. "Are you okay?"

"'m alright…Just getting a little tired…" Judai's voice even sounded sleepy, and Yusei didn't need to see him to imagine the face the other was probably making.

"Alright, hang on," Yusei reassured, starting to officially make his way back home.

He pulled into the driveway not long after that, but even after he parked, Judai didn't make a move. "Uhm… Judai?"

The other stayed silent.

"Judai?" Yusei pulled off his helmet and tried to reach back, to nudge him. "Y-You need to get up. We're home."

"Nooo…" his voice was a quiet groan and he gripped Yusei tighter. "You're stuck here."

"What are you talking about? No. Judai, let go." Yusei protested, starting to push on Judai's arms. "Let's go back inside. You can lay down on a proper bed which is far more comfortable than laying on my back."

"I disagree. You're more comfortable than my bed. Like a warm, teddy bear." Judai mumbled, only letting go long enough to take off his helmet before latching back onto the other's waist despite how Yusei started to squirm. "A very reluctant, but good smelling teddy bear."

Yusei huffed and glanced back at him, narrowing his eyes a little despite the pink flush that dusted over his cheeks. If this was how Judai was going to play this game, then so be it. He put the arm up on his runner and swung his leg around, standing up and practically dragging Judai with him. The other let out a cry of surprise, scrambling to hold onto him as he lost his balance.

What Yusei hadn't accounted for was Judai actually keeping his grip or the fact that the other actually outweighed him just enough that the world rushed by him as he was dragged down with the brunette. It took him a moment to regain his bearings, but thankfully enough he'd had the subconscious reflex to protect his face from the fall. He felt the weight on his back lift a bit, and he rolled over onto his back to find himself nose to nose with Judai.

Time itself seemed to freeze. All he could do was stare up into brown eyes as his mind drew up a complete blank and he forgot how to breathe. Judai's face was framed perfectly in a halo of stars that seemed to glisten around his head and add a starlit tint to his hair. The other's signature red jacket was a gentle contrast, the moonlight seemed to turn it a reddish purple instead. He was hyper aware of how Judai's body lingered over him the moment he dared to take the smallest of breaths and how the air between them was suddenly void of oxygen. He could almost hear the beat of his own heart which started to race in his ears when Judai leaned closer instead of back.

Yusei pressed his head back into the ground in a vain attempt to regain some of the space between them, his hands reflexively clenching to fists as his entire body went rigid. Just before all distance was lost though, Judai turned his head just enough and let their foreheads touch instead.

"You're absolutely beautiful, you know that?" He whispered breathlessly, shifting his weight to one arm so he could cup Yusei's face in his hand and brush his thumb over his cheek.

Yusei let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and he opened his eyes, unsure of when he'd even closed them. He could feel Judai's breaths tickling his face, but as much as he'd normally be desperate for escape, he felt himself relaxing beneath him and under his touch.

"What are you talking about?" His voice was barely audible, but he wasn't ready to break whatever this was.

"Besides your impossibly big heart, have you looked in a mirror lately? Damn…" Judai smiled, barely lifting his head enough to look at him properly. "Your hair is like the night sky with shooting stars, and don't even get me started on your eyes. Especially right now…they're glittering like stardust."

If Yusei had been lost for words before, he had definitely forgotten the entire alphabet now. He couldn't think of anything to say to that, though he was quite certain that even if he did, his mouth wasn't going to cooperate and let him say it. Instead, he decided to show rather than tell.

Reaching up, he wrapped his arms around Judai and pulled him down flush up against him. He held him there for a breath of a moment only loosening his grip enough to nudge the other's head up with his nose so he could look him in the eye before leaning up just enough to touch foreheads with him again.

They stayed like that for a while, time long forgotten and all but ignored. When they parted, Judai helped him stand and maybe their hands lingered together longer than necessary, their eyes locked on each other for a bit longer before a shiver ran its way up Yusei's back and a soft laugh escaped Judai.

"Come on, it's pretty cold out here," Judai commented, intertwining his fingers with Yusei's and leading him back to the house.

Yusei was fairly certain Martha had already turned in for the night judging by how dark it was when they'd entered, something he was glad for after what had just happened. He still was mentally processing it as he followed Judai down the hall to their room, absentmindedly pulling the hair tie out of his hair and letting it spring back to its normal style.

"Jeez, you don't even need gel for that?" Judai asked, almost startling Yusei out of his thoughts.

"No, actually. It's always done this. I got it from my dad." Yusei replied, sitting down on his bed. He looked down at his hands, surprised by how content and comfortable he felt. He almost didn't want to break the silence that settled over them, but still he felt he should at least say something. "… Judai, I had fun tonight."

"Yeah?" The brunette looked up at him with a gentle, bright smile that seemed to light up his eyes. "I did too. Even if there were mannequins and creepy bloody body parts everywhere."

Yusei shook his head and leaned back, letting himself fall into his bed. "Please, don't remind me."

They easy, comfortable silence returned and settled between them as they went about their nightly routine, each taking a quick shower to wash away the escape room before starting to turn in for the night.

"Hey, Yusei," Judai asked, laying on his side and facing the other's bed. "Can I ask you something?"

"I think you already have but go ahead." Yusei shot back, teasing lightheartedly as he turned to rest on his side and face the other as well.

"Jerk," The other threw back at him, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, why do you still live with Martha? You mentioned before that Zora had rented out her garage to you, Jack and Crow before. Why did you move back in with her?"

Yusei shrugged. "This was easier, honestly. College isn't exactly cheap, even with the grants and scholarships I managed to earn, and I spent most of my winnings from the WRGP on the restoration of the city and on projects to further bridge the gap between Satellite and Neo Domino. Anything I had left actually went to Martha and the Doctor that used to work here. After all was said and done, I didn't have enough to rent an apartment anymore."

He remembered the day everyone decided to go their separate ways. With his delivery business and winnings, Crow had rented his own place and started up at the police academy. Of course, he'd offered to split rent with Yusei, but he didn't want to be a bother on his friend or get in the way. Besides, the rent for his one-bedroom place was much cheaper than if they'd tried to get a place together. Then there was Jack. He'd gone right back to living the tournament life, so he didn't really have a stable residence other than Carly's place and Yusei wasn't about to move in with them. Aki went to Germany and the twins went to live with their parents and reconnect with them. They'd told Yusei he was welcome to crash at their penthouse anytime he needed, but that felt wrong to him as well. It was a bit too much for his tastes.

"I guess I could have stayed at Zora's, but it didn't really feel right after the others had left." Yusei continued, frowning a little as memories of broken red glasses flickered in the back of his mind. It didn't feel right living there after he'd gone as well. "So, I came back to stay with Martha. I do all the repairs and upgrade her home, and in return I get a roof over my head and warm meals. I also help pay for groceries and the like."

Judai nodded along, smiling a little. "That makes a lot of sense. You've really poured a lot into this city, haven't you?"

Yusei smiled as he thought about it. He really had. From the plans surrounding the road bridges connecting the two cities and the special duel lanes so everyone could safely have riding duels without worrying about impeding regular traffic. Now, he was working on his degree so he could work under the city and finish his father's work, providing a sustainable, efficient source of energy for the city.

"Do you have plans to move out? If you were ever to get the money to, that is. I mean, you're working such long hours all the time."

There were all sorts of implications Judai could be alluding to with that question, but when Yusei studied his face he only saw the purest of curiosity. The other's innocence was quite the whiplash for him sometimes, but all the same it was a breath of fresh air and made talking to him almost effortless. Judai didn't have ulterior motives or intentions behind his words. What he asked was usually what he wanted to know.

He really had thought a few times about moving out, but he really hadn't seen a need to until recently. It must be cramped for Judai to have to squeeze into this bedroom with him. He could imagine the other wanted some form of space or privacy every now and again.

"I've considered it once or twice," Yusei mused. "Right now, I'd really only need or want a small apartment. Just somewhere to sleep and work on my runner between school and work."

That earned him a soft laugh from Judai. It held no malice, just amusement. "You really don't need much at all to be happy, do you? Just a bed, laptop and a garage. Oh, and your deck."

"That's not entirely true," Yusei bit his lip and averted his gaze, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I mean… I'd be perfectly content with just that, but I also need my friends. There's no point to all this otherwise. Then, of course, there's you. You make me happy."

Judai's eyes flickered gold for a split second, a confident smirk replacing his bubbly and flustered expression. "I'd certainly hope so, considering we are dating now. Though, you make me happy too, Yusei. You really do."

"I-…" Yusei rolled over to hide his face from the other. He really doubted he was going to get used this and his mind was still coming to terms with the events outside. "It's pretty late. We should probably get some sleep."

"Hm? I guess you're right." Judai's voice sounded a little disappointed, but any traces of it was gone when he chimed a quiet goodnight from his side of the room and started to get comfortable in his bed.

"Goodnight, Judai," Yusei replied quietly, smiling to himself as he curled up and nuzzled into his pillow. He listened to the sound of Judai's breathing, and let it act as white noise to quiet his mind and lull him to sleep.

* * *

 **Kitana: I adore them. That is all.**

 **Thank you for reading, favoriting/following and reviewing!**


	14. Forgotten Lunch

Winter descended over the city like a thick, frozen blanket covering everything it could in ice and snow. The once gentle breezes were like blades cutting through any jacket and chilling anyone who dared to venture outside to the bone. Judai was quickly learning that winter was Yusei's least favorite season. He was constantly shivering and finding ways to avoid going outside as much as physically possible.

Within the last couple days, he even noticed Yusei was refusing to leave his bed until the last possible second. Even then, his reluctance was clear with every move he made to leave the thick blankets and gather his clothes for the day. It was such a stark shift from how he was before, constantly up and out on time and prompt to a fault unless he got engrossed in a project. Judai had even noticed him sniffling more, but that was likely just the weather. After all, his own nose had been running a lot as of late.

"Yusei, come on. Don't you have to leave for class soon?" Judai teased him that particular morning, going over to the other's bed and plopping himself down on the edge. "Even I'm up before you. Now that's saying something."

The grumble and angry glare he got from the head that barely poked out from the covers was nothing short of precious in the brunette's eyes and he made it a point to smile at Yusei like he was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

"Babe, don't be like that," Judai laughed, bouncing a little on the bed to try and annoy the other enough to rouse him. "You have an exam today, don't you?"

Another groan of protest left the other before he finally shifted and sat up, immediately wrapping his arms around himself. "It's too cold…" Yusei muttered bitterly, more to himself than to Judai. He got out of bed and immediately slipped into his favorite jacket while he gathered his clothes and left to change.

That he could honestly agree on. The weather had taken such a sudden turn from chilly to bitter cold. It was only last month that autumn had been hanging on still and he and Yusei had started dating. It was such a shame that it was over. Their Saturday outings were now limited to what they could do indoors due to the weather and they'd even cancelled going out a few times in favor of staying here on the couch with mugs of hot chocolate or coffee.

"Hey, drive safely out there, alright? It snowed last night, and you said the roads were getting slick yesterday." Judai piped up as he followed Yusei to the door. "And good luck on your exam."

Yusei smiled at him and finished tying his scarf around his neck. "Thanks, Judai. I will. Stay inside today, okay? You've been sniffling, and I don't want you getting sick."

"You're one to talk. Besides, I have to go outside. I'm shoveling all the sidewalks for the neighbors, remember?" It was just a small odd job that he technically wasn't getting paid for, but it was something to do with his day other than sit around or clean. Especially considering Martha did most of that already.

Yusei shook his head but let Judai hug him before he turned and left for class. It had taken some time, but Judai was rather pleased that he was now able to hug Yusei without the other getting uncomfortable about it. Now, if only he could get Yusei to initiate one without it being a typical greeting or farewell hug.

 _Welp, best get to work!_ Judai thought happily to himself, gearing up in his own winter garb before taking to the sidewalks with shovel and ice melt in hand.

It took him almost all morning, but he steadily worked through each driveway and the sidewalk connecting them all the way down the street and back the other side. It helped that some of the neighbors had already come out to do their own driveway, especially as the morning went on. He even stopped to chat with a couple of them. By the time he made it back to Martha' s, he actually felt hot and sweaty and frozen solid all at the same time.

He took his boots off in the garage and peeled off his hat and gloves, trying to do his best to make sure he wasn't going to track any snow back into the house. When he got inside, he greeted Martha and went to the stove to start some hot water for a drink to warm up.

"Did Yusei not go to class?" Martha asked.

Judai raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. "No, he did. Why do you ask?"

She gestured to the table where a black lunchbox sat. "He didn't take the lunch he made for himself last night. He must have forgotten it."

"He's been kind of forgetful lately. He couldn't find his glasses last night and they were on his head… He was using them to look for them." Judai chuckled, remembering how worried Yusei had been when he came bursting into the room to ask Judai if he'd seen his glasses.

Martha nodded and shrugged. "He's probably just getting burnt out from all his classes and work."

"Probably. I'll text him and let him know he forgot it." Judai said as he pulled out his phone.

' _Hey, you forgot your lunch on the table. Guess that means I get to eat now, right?'_

It didn't take long at all for his phone to buzz.

' _Yeah, go ahead. I don't have time to come home and get it.'_

'… _What are you going to eat?'_

' _I'll eat when I get home. Don't worry, I'll be alright.'_

Well Judai certainly wasn't having any of that. He frowned at his phone then looked between it and the lunch. The school wasn't _that_ far away. He could probably make it there and still give Yusei a chance to eat a little or at least have it to eat in his next class.

With his mind made up, he bundled up once more and took a peek at what Yusei had packed himself for lunch. It was a simple sandwich with a granola bar on the side, not too out of the ordinary for him. Judai decided it couldn't hurt at all to add a couple things though. He flitted around the kitchen, getting some grapes and a thermos of tea for Yusei along with a maybe not so healthy chocopie.

Satisfied with his additions, Judai let Martha know he was leaving and set off back into the cold with the lunchbox slung over his shoulder and his phone in hand with directions to the school and nearest bus stop pulled up.

Thankfully, the bus was able to drop him off right at the campus, but unfortunately it had started snowing rather heavily by that time. It wasn't even the pretty fluffy snow. It was small specks that felt like ice when the wind blew it across his face. Judai could barely feel his fingers by the time his phone had guided him to the building he thought was Yusei's. He'd never actually been to the campus with him before, only seen it in passing and heard about it from the other.

' _Where are you? I miss you.'_ He texted Yusei with a smile once he was inside. Now that he was there, he really wanted to surprise him.

' _I just got out of class. I still have a couple more tonight. I'm sorry.'_

' _No, I mean. Where's your class? Like, what room?'_

He heard the familiar chime of Yusei's phone after he sent that message and immediately looked up to see the other coming down the stairs to the left, staring at his phone in confusion.

"Yusei!" Judai called, waving him down. There were a few other people, likely his classmates, that had been walking down with him that gave him a look.

"J-Judai?! What are you doing here?" Yusei jogged over to him, worry written all over his face. "Are you alright?"

Judai nodded and slipped the lunchbox off his shoulder, proudly presenting it to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little cold is all. I brought you your lunch. No way am I letting you skip a meal. You barely eat enough as is."

Yusei's eyes widened in surprise, especially when he took his lunchbox and found it much heavier than when he'd packed it last night. "Judai… you didn't have to do this. What's even in here anyway? It wasn't this heavy last night. All I packed was a sandwich."

"Exactly. That's nowhere near enough food, so I added a couple things." Judai admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I hope it's okay."

"Of course it's okay." Yusei shook his head, knowing better than to try and protest or argue with Judai on this at least. "Thank you…"

"Hey, anytime. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you starve?" Judai teased, loving the way Yusei's face lit up red.

"Not so loud here. I'm sorry." He hissed at him. "Come on. Let's go sit down. You look frozen solid." Yusei mumbled, glancing around before taking Judai's hand and tugging him down a few of the halls to an open room in the back of the building.

It looked like it was just a quiet place to study with a couple tables and chairs spread out by a wall that was completely covered in windowpanes from floor to ceiling, giving them the perfect view of the snowy landscape outside while they were warm and safe indoors.

"Judai, you really shouldn't have." Yusei said as he opened the lunchbox and pulled out the thermos and food. Despite the heater blowing warm air on them, he was still shaking a little. "I would have been okay. Besides, it's frigid out there. What are you going to do about getting back? Wait…how did you even get here?"

"I took the bus here. I'll take it back. It was definitely worth a little snow if I get see you." Judai smiled at him and moved to put his seat right next to Yusei, unzipping his coat and sliding an arm out so he could wrap his arm around the other without touching him with the cold, wet part of his jacket. "Geez and you told me _I_ was frozen solid. You're the one who's shivering."

Yusei was so close to protesting and arguing with him about his actions, he could feel it in the way his back went rigid, but instead Yusei surprised him this time. Rather than get embarrassed and gently push him away, he actually leaned into him and pressed closer.

"Damn, you're warm…" Yusei muttered under his breath, resting his head on Judai's chest.

This time, Judai had no idea what to do. He was so used to Yusei not wanting too much physical contact that this threw him for a loop, not that he was complaining at all. Instinctively, he held onto the other a little tighter and rubbed his shoulder to try and help warm him up a bit.

They stayed like that awhile longer watching the snowfall outside start to grow heavier before Judai nudged the top of Yusei's head with his nose, speaking quietly. "You need to eat, Yusei."

"But that means moving and I don't want to. It's nice and warm here." Yusei hardly ever complained. Hearing him get upset over something that wasn't even an issue nearly made Judai laugh.

"I'm not going anywhere. You can reach your food from here, can't you?" Judai challenged, shifting to force Yusei to sit up a little. "If you don't eat, then I guess I'll just have to take my arm back."

He started to lift his arm away from the other but was quickly stopped by a firm hand holding onto his. "No. I mean- please don't… I'll eat."

"Good."

Both Yusei and Judai were very disappointed when the other had finished his lunch and needed to return to class. His side felt cold without the other snuggled up there and he could only image how chilled Yusei felt. He almost wanted to leave him his jacket, but he needed it to get home.

"Judai, wait. You're not going out in that." Yusei interrupted, reaching out to stop him.

"What are you talking about, Yusei? I have to go home." He looked outside to try and figure out why the other wouldn't want him to leave and felt his jaw drop. It wasn't just snowing outside anymore. It was full on, whiteout blizzarding.

Only now that he was paying attention to it did he hear the wind raging against the building and the icy snow spraying against the glass.

 _Yeah. No. We're not letting you go out in that either._ Yubel protested as well.

He turned to Yusei, at a bit of a loss. "If I can't go home, then what am I going to do?"

"You can stay here until I'm done with class. I know that'll be a little while, but I can drive us home after and you won't have to pay for the bus again." Yusei suggested. "I'll come back here for you after I've finished."

Judai pouted a little but gave in quickly enough. This was going to be a boring couple hours. "Yeah… it beats going out in that."

"Here," Yusei paused and quickly took out a piece of paper, scribbling something down before handing it off to Judai. "At least you'll have wifi?"

Well that certainly made things better. Judai perked up and accepted the paper, hugging his boyfriend tightly much to the other's immediate protest. "Thank you!"

"Alright, alright, I have to go." Yusei squirmed out of his grasp and smiled at him, reaching out and squeezing his hand a bit. "Thanks for bringing my lunch. I'll see you after class."

"Anytime,"

And with that he was gone, a light skip in his step and a soft blush on his cheeks. Judai watched him go before returning to where he and the other had sat before. He scrolled through a few social media pages and played on mindless apps on his phone. Yusei had tinkered with it and fixed it up to keep up with the new tech. Basically, that meant he replaced everything inside it and kept the outer shell and files to make Judai feel better.

A couple hours passed and Judai had settled rather comfortably. A few students had passed by while he waited for Yusei, some looking out at the storm and just going back to wait out elsewhere and others making statements like "oh well" before shrugging and walking out into the storm.

"It still hasn't let up?" Yusei called, appearing at the entrance to the study area and walking over to him.

Judai jumped a little, having been so absorbed in his phone he never even noticed him approach. "Woah! Where did- Don't sneak up on me like that." He laughed, looking over at him. "And no. It's still going pretty strong."

"I guess there's nothing we can do about it… We have to start heading back." Yusei frowned a little and started walking towards the door before he stopped suddenly and whipped around, nearly making Judai run into him. "Wait. I forgot something. It's in the locker rooms."

"The locker rooms?"

"Yeah, I needed an extra class, so I decided to take kickboxing." He explained turning back. "Typically, people who aren't students aren't allowed back there, but I doubt anyone would stop you. It's not like they're going to ask for an ID from you."

"Alright. Are you sure? I'm not wearing anything close the uniform. I could just wait here for you. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble." Judai offered, gesturing to the chair he now mentally marked as his.

Yusei shook his head at that though and nodded for him to follow him. "No, it should be fine. We'll only get in trouble if we get caught. Come with me."

"If you say so,"

Judai followed after Yusei through a few halls and out the door into a breezeway shielding them from the worst of the storm and allowing them to cross over to another building which seemed to be full of sports related rooms and gyms. He could even hear the splashing of water from a pool somewhere down the hall. He missed swimming, but he thought it was far too cold to even consider doing so.

Yusei lead him into the locker rooms and went back to on near the back, starting to fiddle with his combination lock. Once he got it open, he grabbed a small bag Judai assumed had pens or tools in it and stuffed it into his backpack.

"There." Yusei announced. He closed his locker and turned around to find Judai's face just inches from his, the other's arm on the locker beside him. "J-Judai…"

"What? Cat got your tongue? Don't worry, no one else is here."

As if saying those words had jinxed him, the door on the opposite end of the locker room swung open followed by what sounded like an authoritative voice, maybe a coach or some kind of instructor. Judai took one look at Yusei's mortified face and immediately started looking for an escape route for the both of them. There wasn't another door out, but maybe…

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the other before putting a hand over his mouth and pulling him into a wider locker, letting Yubel's power close the door behind them.

He hissed at Yusei to be quiet when the other made a noise of protest behind his hand, his own attention more focused on what was going on outside and who was patrolling the lockers. It sounded like they were looking for something by how he heard them go down each row. The footsteps echoed through the room, closer and closer until a shadow passed over where they were hiding and paused there.

"Nothing here…Guess it got picked up and put in the lost and found." The voice muttered before they finally walked off.

Judai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the entrance door open then close and it was only then that he realized just how close he was to Yusei. Their bodies were practically pressed up against each other, his leg in between Yusei's and if his hand wasn't in the way they'd be close enough to taste one another's breath. Yusei's face was bright red and his body felt like it was strung tight as a bow, wide eyes staring at him almost desperately.

"I-I'm sorry," he blurted out, lowing his hand from Yusei's mouth and quickly willing Yubel's abilities to open the door and release them both.

There was no easy way to get them both out of the cramped locker space without pressing a little closer and leaving in the reverse way they went in.

"Judai, what were you thinking?!" Yusei blurted out at him, completely flustered. "I-I know I said we might get in trouble, but was that really necessary?"

"Of course it was. I would hate to be the one that tarnished your record." He insisted, beaming at the incredulous look he received.

"They would have let me off with a warning at worst. I doubt they'd have cared that much…silly Kuriboh." Yusei muttered, turning around to leave.

Judai jogged to keep up with him. "Wait, wait! What did you just call me?"

Yusei laughed and just kept walking, glancing over his shoulder at him. "I called you a silly Kuriboh. Why? Do you not like it?"

"What? No! I don't dislike it, but…why Kuriboh? Please tell me it's not because of my hair." Judai pouted at him.

"It's mostly because of your hair," Yusei chimed back at him. "but also because it's your favorite card not to mention that giant plush you had me win you at the fair."

Judai was caught between being flattered and not all at the same time. This nickname was coming from Yusei though, and he didn't sound like he was mocking him like others had before. "Mmm, alright then. I guess I can accept it, but only from you."

The drive back to Martha's was bitter cold, and Judai held on tightly to Yusei to keep out of the wind. They were both quick to rush inside, snow blowing in after them. Once they'd gotten in and settled down on the couch to warm up, Judai looked across at Yusei who had already absorbed himself into whatever homework he had.

"Hey, so…since you called me Kuriboh, does that mean I can call you a nickname too?"

"I don't see why not" Yusei replied, not looking up from his laptop.

"Well, since you picked one of my favorite cards why don't I do the same?" He reasoned, starting to think through each card he'd seen Yusei play in almost every duel they had together. "What do you say to…Stardust? You said the dragon symbolizes hope to you and your eyes are as beautiful as stardust lighting up the night sky."

That caused Yusei's fingers to freeze over the keyboard. He looked up at him with a dark pink flush dusting across his face. "W-What?"

"You heard me. I think your eyes are beautiful. Like the night sky littered with stars. Sure, the moon is something to behold, but have you even been somewhere far away from civilization on a new moon's night and looked up at the sky? It's an inky dark blue and all you see are stars. It's gorgeous. Like you."

Yusei's mouth opened and shut a couple times, but not a word escaped him. Judai only laughed and leaned over, kissing his forehead. He realized his mistake the moment he felt Yusei jerk back from him, mentally cursing himself for being so impulsive.

"S-Sorry, sorry," he muttered, leaning back, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, it's okay actually. You just surprised me is all." Yusei reassured him, smiling shyly. "It's okay."

Judai breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over to him, "You mean it?"

He nodded, eyeing him closely. "Yeah, I do."

Judai leaned over the rest of the way and touched their foreheads together. "I'm glad, Stardust~"

* * *

 **Kitana: welp! This was...not the chapter 14 that I started with at allll. I wrote one chapter and was gonna post it, then decided against it. Still not sure if I'm just gonna make it a one shot or what I'm gonna do with it, but here's this!**

 **Thank you for reading, favoriting/following and reviewing!**


	15. I'm Stressed Out

The days melded into one another, and they settled once more into a comfortable routine. Judai was more than happy to act as a space heater for Yusei while he studied and worked on projects at home. In return, Yusei would duel Judai and would drive him to work or at least the bus stop. The brunette had initially tried to insist he could walk himself, but Yusei was hearing none of it. Not with the snow on the ground and how cold it was. The last thing he wanted was for Judai to get sick. Selfishly, because then he'd stand a higher risk of getting sick himself, but he'd also really hate to see someone so bright and happy so miserable.

Yusei walked into the coffee shop and tapped the snow from his shoes on the welcome mat, more than welcoming of the rush of hot air that swept by him and carried the soul warming scents of coffee and peppermint with it. It didn't take him long to spot his bubbly brunette behind the counter, calling out someone's name and quickly making his way to the register at the sound the front bell.

"Yusei, what can I get started for you?" Judai greeted happily, his face lighting up almost immediately upon seeing Yusei rather than another customer.

"Mmm, how about a medium peppermint hot chocolate with one of those outrageously large bell-shaped marshmallows you won't stop begging me to get?" Yusei almost burst out laughing at the surprised look on his face, watching Judai's eyes dart from him to the clock on the wall.

"Wait, you're actually ordering?" The brunette stared a moment longer just to be sure this wasn't a joke before entering in the code and telling him his total. "Alright, but you owe me for making me stay later."

Yusei rolled his eyes and paid, smiling all the while as he walked over to the pickup area. "Your coworker was right there though. You could have let them make my drink."

"Not a chance, Fudo. I'm the only one allowed to make you a drink while I'm here. I'm afraid it's the law." Judai remarked, handing Yusei his cup. "Go find a seat. I'm going to go clock out."

Yusei accepted the warm drink and nodded, walking over to a tall table for two by the windows and getting up into his seat. He went to take a sip when he noticed something scrawled on the side of the cup in black marker. ~My Stardust~ was written in rather sloppy cursive on the side with a little four-point star for added decoration. Somehow, that made him feel warmer than his first sip of his drink ever could have.

The cozy, warm feeling only grew when Judai stepped out from the employee area and skipped over to him, scarf and jacket already on and zipped up.

"I am beyond ready to get out of here." The brunette announced, flopping down into the seat across from him and dramatically laying himself across the table. "Or never mind…I think I'll just sit here for a while."

Yusei felt a small smile pull at his lips in amusement at the other's dramatic antics. "Was today busy for you?"

"Well, no, it wasn't so much that so much as everyone had to be super mean and difficult about their orders. This one person was even upset I didn't put their medium drink in a large cup because they wanted that much extra whipped cream, but they didn't say that when they ordered. Apparently, they're a regular and I just haven't met them yet." Judai complained. He lifted his hand as well without lifting his head. "Look. I even burnt myself on accident."

"You burnt yourself?" Yusei didn't even think twice as he set his drink aside and took the other's hand in his own to examine it. The burns were mostly covered with a bandage, but the skin that peeked out from behind it looked red. "I'm sorry. Does it hurt still? I've got some aloe at home. I use it when I burn my hands."

Judai lifted his head to shake it 'no' and twisted his hand to hold Yusei's instead, much to the raven's embarrassment. It was endearing how just handholding made him flush up like that. "Well, not really, but the aloe does sound nice. It only hurts if you press on it. I think it'll be okay."

Yusei frowned a little but left his hand in Judai's as he took another drink of his hot chocolate. "You should be more careful next time. It's hard to duel or do much of anything with burnt hands."

"I know, I know. I already reported it too, so don't worry about that." The brunette sat up and leaned his head on his palm, looking to him in interest and brushing his thumb over the back of his hand. "Enough about my boring day though, what about you?"

"It was the same as always, really. Lectures and homework all day followed by a couple odd jobs for work and now I get to pick you up to go home, study, work, sleep and repeat." Yusei answered, rambling off the list with a disinterested shrug. He loved what he did and what he was studying, but he knew he lost Judai whenever he started to honestly go off on tangents about and he didn't want to bore him with all the details. "Why don't we work on the going home part though? I have an assignment to try and finish before I have to go try and fix this runner engine that's been acting up."

Judai's eyebrows shot up, "An engine? That must be a pretty nice paycheck. What's wrong with it?"

"Mhmm. I'm hoping it'll cover one of my books next semester…or at least the class fees." He muttered, shaking his head a little as he stood up. He had a decent scholarship going for him, but it definitely didn't cover everything. Just thinking about his finances though made his stomach twist and turn uncomfortably. "I'm not entirely sure. They just said it won't turn on and they wanted me to try and take a look."

"Well, be careful, okay?" Judai prompted, standing up as well and squeezing his hand. "Can we watch something together when you get back? Provided you finish your assignment and it's not too late."

Hearing the hope fill his voice made it impossible to turn down the request, even if Yusei had originally planned to simply do more studying when he got back. "Yeah, of course. If I finish my homework and get back before _your_ imposed curfew, then I don't see why not."

"I'd say I was mad at myself for that curfew, but that would be a lie. You don't look anywhere near as exhausted." He pointed out rather proudly of himself.

"Sure, sure," Yusei halfheartedly agreed. He didn't feel less tired, but that could largely be due to the fact that though he went to bed earlier, that didn't mean he slept the entire time. Besides, finals for this term were approaching rather quickly. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well be productive with his time.

He drove them home and set to work immediately on his assignment, settling down on the couch while Judai went to take a shower. Math was kind to him. It was symbols and equations that made sense and had a direct, reliable purpose. It didn't rely on him needing to understand complex grammatical structures or formatting that was never necessary to his life before college. He was admittedly glad he'd already passed those classes before Judai had come. He didn't know what he'd have done if he had a curfew at the same time he was furiously attempting to make the words in his head appear on the pages as eloquently as they were expecting of him. Jack and Aki got so many rough drafts from him to edit and help make sense of.

Yusei diligently wrote out the solutions to each equation, textbook and calculator balanced on one lap and his notebook in the other while his hot chocolate sat mostly ignored on the coffee table. Assignments like these left him free to think idly about other things which was dangerous today. He felt rushed and short on time, mentally trying to work out his time schedule for the rest of the night and tomorrow. He wanted to spend time with Judai. He hadn't really devoted any time to just him since their outing last Saturday. Today was Thursday. Was he upset with him for that? Jack had mentioned that Carly got upset with him if he didn't set aside time for her without prompting or having it scheduled in. Something about not being a work meeting. Besides that, he'd often heard his classmates who were in relationships complaining they weren't spending enough time with their significant others.

Maybe he would be able to figure out how to manage his time better if he could just solve this cursed problem. He didn't know when he got stuck, but he was on his third rewrite of this one and still getting the same answer. The same answer that definitely was not in the back of the book. He checked. Three times.

"Hey, you alright there, Stardust?" Judai asked from beside him, sitting down on the couch and carefully leaning over to put and arm around him. It was always hit or miss on whether this was acceptable, but when Yusei was engrossed in a problem like this, he usually got away with it. So long as the golden rule of not touching his laptop was upheld that is.

"I'm fine. I just don't know where I went wrong on this one. My answer doesn't match the textbook, but I'm sure I did it right. I can't think of anything else I could have done differently." Yusei admitted, sighing heavily as he carefully combed through his notes for that section. They'd done an example like this during lecture. Maybe that would show him an alternate path. "It should be right, but it's not."

"I don't know, man, math hates me unless it's duel equations." Judai rested his head on Yusei's shoulder, hoping that maybe helping warm him up a little might somehow make the right answer come to him.

The extra weight was far from appreciated; however, and Yusei shrugged his shoulder to dislodge the other, looking to him with a cross frown. "Not now, Judai. Please. I'm trying to figure this out."

Judai, thankfully, immediately backed off and put his hands up in submission. "Okay, okay. Sorry… Just thought you might be cold is all… Do you want me to leave you alone?"

His immediate instinct was to say yes so he could focus, but guilt was eating away at him. He was just worried about not spending enough time with him because of school and work and now he was pushing him away because of school.

"I don't know…" he muttered, letting his shoulders drop. "I want you stay, but I also want you to give me a minute to figure this out."

"Why can't you just leave the answer you have and move on? That's what I'd do whenever I did my homework." Judai asked, folding his arms. "That way, I don't have to go and you get to finish your work. It's the best of both worlds."

"I can't do that. The answer is wrong. I need to know why so I can fix it and make it match the back of the book." Yusei insisted, eyebrows furrowing further. He couldn't even fathom leaving an incorrect answer on his assignment when he was actively aware it was wrong. It didn't matter if he had to stare at it all night. He was going to find out what happened and why.

Judai looked surprised. "Wait, the answers are in the back of your book? Well then, just copy those down and be done with it. Why are you worrying about it?"

"Because that defeats the entire purpose of doing the assignment, Judai." He couldn't believe his ears. How in the world did Judai get into Duel Academy if this was his approach to learning? How did he make the top of his class and join Yugi as a legend amongst duelists? "I need to be able to understand this so I can pass the class and move on. I want to graduate next semester Judai. I can't do that if I fail this class."

"One failed exam isn't going to make you fail the class, and it's one problem, Yusei. I don't think it makes that big of a difference. Does it? Besides, everyone has access to that answer. It's in all your textbooks. It's not like you're cheating or anything, so it doesn't matter." Judai shrugged and leaned back into the couch, seeming blissfully unaware of the threads he was snapping in Yusei's mind.

"Doesn't matter?"

Yusei took a deep breath and closed his book with his notebook, pencil and calculator all still inside. He stood up without another word and grabbed his hot chocolate, heading towards the garage door. He didn't want to argue with Judai. He didn't have the time for that. He had to finish this before going to fix some stupid engine that probably just needed some rust brushed off or oiled, _maybe_ something minor replaced all so he could come home and watch some movie the brunette had found somewhere.

"Yusei! Hey, where are you going? Wait!" He heard Judai scramble off the couch to chase after him, but he didn't want to listen to him anymore either. "What did I say?"

Such a simple little question. Such a thin thread. "What did you say?" Yusei almost couldn't believe Judai was asking that. It should have been obvious, shouldn't it? "What did you say? Judai, I told you exactly why this matters to me. You're asking me to just…copy an answer and bet on the chance a question like this doesn't show up on the exam? We only get two exams in this class and I already almost failed the first one. If I don't get at least a high B on this next test, I'm going to fail this course and will have to wait till the next winter trimester to take it again. I'm sorry, but I can't just…duel my way out of school like you did."

He knew he shouldn't have said it. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and in the moment he really didn't care. There was a twinge of guilt in his chest when he saw the shock and hurt cross Judai's normally bright and happy face, but he didn't stay long enough to let it sink in nor to see the way his boyfriend's eyes had turned a furious gold. Instead, he turned and stormed out the door to his desk in the garage, harshly tossing his book onto it and throwing it open to the problem that started this mess.

Math was supposed to be kind to him. Supposed to have a reliable answer and though there were many ways to it, one reliable solution. Yet now, even as he stared at the page in front of him and tried to will the path to the solution to materialize in front of him, he couldn't think about anything other than what he'd just said and how stupid it was that they'd just argued over something so trivial.

He looked at his answer and once more turned to the back of the book. Maybe he could try to work backwards again. Maybe that would make more sense this time and get his mind off of Judai for just a moment. He nearly choked on his drink; however, when he read the answer for what felt like both the hundredth time and first time all at once.

It matched.

* * *

 **Kitana: Aw, baby's first argument. Sorry I haven't updated in forever. School finals were these last couple weeks and I've been trying to recover and make up for my massive sleep debt. (I kid you not, I was averaging 3 hours of sleep per night if not less for finals week. OOF. Not healthy. Do not do that to yourself.)**

 **As always, thank you for reading, favoriting/following and reviewing!**

 **Questions about Until the End of Time? You can reach me here or on my tumblr: kitana-lunara**


	16. Punishment Cuddles

He had it right. This entire time, he'd had the correct answer written down. There it was, staring him right in the face and stabbing him right through the heart with guilt as he slowly realized he'd been reading the answer to the example question with the same number that was in the column right next to the assignment answers. Even he didn't understand how he'd made that mistake.

Yusei felt caught between laughing and crying at his own stupidity. How was he even going to explain this to Judai? Especially after what he'd just said. There was no way he could just walk back in and tell him their whole fight was for naught because he misread the answer in the back and fell down a slippery slope of panic over his grades. That was even stretching it. His math grade was fairly secure. He'd just made a few common errors on the midterm. There was no reason for him to be worried about it, or for him to have snapped at Judai like that. Just thinking about it and what he should do to apologize for it made his stomach twist uncomfortably. Maybe he should just give Judai some space. That would give himself some time as well to think it through and figure out the best way to tell him he was sorry.

He settled more comfortably at his desk and finished his assignment, purposefully leaving from the garage to repair the engine. He hadn't even gone back inside to tell Martha he was heading out or to pick up the food he'd set aside for himself earlier that day. Not that it mattered. He didn't feel hungry at all.

Not even working on the engine did anything to lift the weight he felt. In fact, despite taking the long way home, when he pulled back into the driveway, the cold, heavy twist in his stomach had only gotten worse. The anxiety almost had Yusei convinced he should consider sleeping in the garage on the floor, but that ridiculous notion was thrown out the window when Martha opened the door and scolded him for not warning her he wasn't going to be home for dinner.

"What am I supposed to think when you vanish like that and Judai doesn't even know where you went? He mentioned a job but didn't say where." Martha stepped out into the garage and pulled him into the house by his arm, ever the motherly figure no matter how old they got. "You could have gotten into an accident and I would never find out unless Crow dragged your broken body to the Doctor's place again."

"I-I'm sorry. I was caught up in my homework and had to leave. I forgot to leave a note." The half-truth still felt more like a lie to Yusei when it came to her, but he still did his best to play it off as more of the truth half than the lie.

Martha did give him a hard once over though, and those narrowed eyes never missed a thing. He was an open book and he knew it. "I'm glad you're alright. You've seemed stressed lately. I was worried. Your food's still in the fridge. Try to eat something before you go to bed."

"Thanks, Martha," Yusei smiled halfheartedly, glad to be off the hook with her at least and made sure to take off and leave his boots by the door.

He found Judai sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Immediately, he wanted to apologize, but he didn't know where to start and that twist in his stomach seemed to take all the words from him.

"Oh, you're back. Did you fix that engine?" Judai asked, smiling up at him as if they hadn't been arguing before he left. It was almost eerie in Yusei's opinion, and it somehow made his guilt triple. "Still have time to watch something, or did you not finish that assignment?"

"Yeah, I fixed it, and no. I finished that before I left. I have time. Just… let me go take a shower first, okay? I'm kind of filthy." He wasn't sure if he was the only one struggling to breathe through the thick tension in the air, but if Judai wanted to play like everything was fine for now, maybe he could play along and ignore that feeling of warning. He didn't necessarily want to cause a scene in front of Martha either.

Showering sometimes helped him clear his head, but it only seemed to muddle it further this time. He didn't understand why Judai was behaving the way he was. Shouldn't he still be mad at him?

Yusei sat down warily in his usual place on the couch, curled into the corner once he was done with his shower. He looked for his usual blanket, not expecting or really wanting to take advantage of Judai's constant body heat only to find his blanket was nowhere to be seen in the living room. Had he moved it elsewhere because he'd gotten so used to Judai's presence or had Judai hidden it? Was this his way of getting back at him for what he'd said? If so, then he supposed he didn't have much of a choice but to put up with being a little cold, especially after Judai pressed play on whatever he wanted to watch with him.

The movie itself turned out to be a rather interesting hero action movie that Yusei would have considered an older classic, but looking at the date of release, for Judai it must have been new or at least from his timeline. He wished he could have enjoyed it more though. It was hard to focus around the guilt.

"Man, I didn't get to see this before I left to come here. It was just coming out." Judai remarked as the credits rolled, that unnervingly happy smile still in place. "Thanks for watching it with me. Remember not to stay up too late. I'm gonna head to bed though. I need some sleep. After all, dueling won't get me out of work tomorrow."

If Yusei felt cold before, he was frozen in place now. "Judai…" The words got caught in his throat however as Judai fixed him with a golden stare before leaving to their room. He hadn't even noticed he was holding his breath until the other was gone and he was left trying to remember how to breathe.

"Whatever happened between you two, go apologize. Maybe it's not entirely your fault, maybe it's not entirely his, but if you boys go to bed angry or upset with each other, I'll make you both scrape the snow and ice off the sidewalk with those small car windshield scrapers until you make up." Martha spoke up from the kitchen, busy preparing a desert she was going to bring by the orphanage for the holidays.

"Yes, Martha," Yusei didn't really need to be told or threatened at all.

He still had only had a vague idea of what to say though and Pharaoh definitely didn't help. The normally lazy, sleeping fat cat had hissed at him immediately when he entered the room and made him jerk back a little in surprise. Somehow, the cat was just as upset with him as he assumed Judai was.

"Judai?" He called out, sitting down on his bed after he was sure Pharaoh wasn't going to take a swipe at him as well. "Listen, I don't know if you're awake or not-"

"I am." Judai interrupted, not moving from his place facing the wall.

"Oh…" He took a deep breath before starting to speak again. "Judai, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said half those things to you. My grades aren't your problem and I shouldn't have said what I did before I left, let alone just walk off on you. It was stupid of me. I hadn't even gotten that problem wrong at all. I had just misread the answer in the back. There's no excuse for what I said. I'm sorry… How can I make it up to you?"

Judai didn't say anything for a long time, leaving Yusei to stare at the back of his head in silent anxiety which only grew with the pause. Was what he said not good enough? He was about to ask what Judai wanted from him again when the other took a deep breath and rolled over to face him.

"Yusei…" Judai explained as he sat up and held out his arms. "Come here."

"What?" He had to have been kidding. He wanted a hug? Now of all times?

All Judai did was stay still and keep his arms out, waiting silently for him to comply. Depending on how Yusei responded would tell him all he needed to know about whether or not the other was truly sorry, or if his words were just for show. He already knew Yusei meant what he said. That much was obvious. The man was an open book in that regard, but Judai wanted more from him.

Yusei was hesitant, but he got up from his bed and sat beside Judai instead, eyeing him suspiciously. It was almost cute in Yubel's opinion. In an instant, Judai wrapped his around him in a painfully tight grip, squeezing him until he started to protest. He brought a hand up to pet the other's spikey hair but paused a moment when the other flinched at the contact.

Judai shook his head and let out a sigh. "I can't believe I have to use punishment cuddles with you like I do Pharaoh." He said, almost sounding amused as he continued to hold him close and stroke his hair until Yusei started to relax, the suspicion in those blue eyes turning to confusion. Judai didn't explain himself further just yet, putting his hand at the back of Yusei's head so he couldn't pull or jerk away as he kissed his forehead. "Silly mechanic… Your grades are my problem when they worry you this much. I'm more upset that you've been lying to me about school going well and that you haven't talked to me about it rather than you storming out or getting mad at me over different school philosophies. I am upset about what you said, but it's not like it's untrue. I slept through every class and never turned in any assignments until the instructors threatened to kick me out otherwise. The only reason they didn't completely fail me was because I was one of the best duelists there, if not the best."

He went back to simply holding Yusei to himself, silently hoping that one day such displays of affection from him would be seen as a reward rather than a punishment. He really wanted to know why Yusei seemed to hate being touched so much. He'd never once made a move to harm the other before nor had he seen Martha do so, but Yusei still flinched or tensed at every initial touch and seemed to expect to be hurt. That was unfortunately a problem to face another day. Maybe when Yusei was less stressed and tense and Judai was less mad at him.

"Please, talk to me. Why have you been lying? Why didn't you tell me you were struggling? I ask how your day went everyday…" Judai pressed, drawing back just enough to look him in the eyes.

Yusei wanted to shrink into himself and vanish. He really didn't think leaving out his school troubles was lying. "I didn't want you or Martha worrying about me and feeling guilty or trying to control more. You've already put in place that curfew. I don't want to lose our dates on Saturday too because you think you're distracting me."

"You really hate the curfew, don't you?" Judai already knew the answer to that. Yusei had been quite upset with him after the conclusion of that duel, but he'd still honored it.

"Yes. I can't get anywhere near as much done as I was before, and half the time, I'll admit, I'm not even asleep, Judai. I'm just…laying there. Staring at the ceiling or the wall." _Or you._ He mentally added. He understood and knew why Judai had insisted on it, and he had lost that duel fair and square, but it was becoming a bigger and bigger obstacle to him managing everything he wanted to.

"Well, I won't lift it, but maybe we can work something out instead. Like…maybe so long as you're in bed by that time, you can still do homework or study until…1 am. Is that fair?" Judai offered, trying to find a happy medium with the other that might relieve some of the stress he was under.

Yusei thought about this for a moment before counteroffering, "3am."

"1:30."

"2:45."

"2am and that's my final offer or it's no deal and curfew stands as it is." Judai said firmly, eyes flickering gold as he held Yusei by his chin. "Deal?"

He could tell he wasn't going to get any further in negotiations there, and at least it wasn't nothing starting at midnight. Two more hours. He might be able to work with that. ". . .deal."

Judai kept his hand under his chin though he relaxed his grip a little, and it was only then that Yusei took notice of how truly close they were. There was barely a breath's space between them, and he was very nearly in the other's lap with how tightly he'd been pulled to him. The want for space and small desire for less space were at war in his mind and since he couldn't look away, he closed his eyes and waited in darkness for the other's next move.

"Don't be like that, Stardust. Look at me. I'm not going to do anything. You know that. I just want you to look at me and tell me why you were so stressed out tonight. It couldn't have just been about the curfew." Judai insisted, rubbing his cheek with his thumb.

Reluctantly, Yusei slowly opened his eyes and looked up at him, swearing he could have seen the other's eyes flicker red and green this time. Maybe he needed to get his eyes checked or maybe Judai's power had similar effects to the Crimson dragon's on him. He didn't see any point in trying to dodge Judai's question. He had the feeling he would know immediately if he tried to lie. "I…was worried we weren't spending enough time together. Not just sitting on the couch while I do my homework, but actually being with you. I know Jack's girlfriend Carly gets upset when he's more focused on his deck and the next tournament than her and I've heard some of my classmates are having problems in their relationships because either they're not spending enough time with their partner or their partner is ignoring them. I… I don't want you to feel like I'm ignoring you. We only really do things together on Saturday. Otherwise, I'm distracted or gone altogether. The problem is, I can't think of anything I can do to change how things have been without school or work suffering."

The want for more space won out, and Yusei finally managed to pull away from Judai and sit a little bit from him so they weren't touching anymore. While colder without the extra body heat, he was more comfortable and able to breathe properly at last.

"Yusei… Is that really what this was all about?" Judai asked, his eyes wide in surprise, like he was expecting something much more. He even started to laugh a little, shaking his head. "That's what's got you so worked up? I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but I was honestly expecting you to say something more serious was bothering you like you were being bullied at school. Yusei, I promise you haven't been ignoring me. You've been busy, and so have I since I started working a more regular job. I would have said something if I felt like I was being ignored. Well, it's more likely I'd have done something to demand your attention like steal your laptop, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Don't you dare touch it." Yusei immediately interrupted, always quick to defend that piece of his life. That and his runner, but he tended to be more lenient about that.

"I know, I know, Stardust. I'd prefer to keep my hands attached to my body where they belong." Judai shook his head, almost reaching over to ruffle Yusei's hair, but he stopped himself and instead rested his hand in the space between them. "I'm perfectly happy just sitting on the couch with you. That still counts as spending time together in my book. I'll be selfish about your time after you graduate, okay?"

Yusei was conflicted about that answer. On the one hand, he was relieved Judai didn't feel like he wasn't as important as his studies, but at the same time on the other hand, he almost wanted him to be upset about how little time they'd spent together. Maybe, it wasn't Judai who he was worried about being upset. Maybe, it was more that he himself was upset about it. _He_ wanted to spend more time with Judai, but he couldn't and that made his jaw tighten in frustration.

"I guess," he mumbled, rubbing his arm. At least Judai was content with this for now. Maybe he could be too.

Now Judai didn't know what he did wrong. Even Yubel could only shrug at him and shake their head.

' _He wants you to be upset about it.'_ Haou huffed from his time out corner in Judai's head. ' _He doesn't feel justified in being upset about it himself. He wants you to be angry about it for him. So, he can feel bad with a reason. Honestly, it's such a childish move. Why are we even still here? I thought you were done having pointless crushes. We shouldn't be staying in one place for this long. You know that.'_

" _Shut. Up. Haou."_ Judai mentally hissed back, shoving the other deeper into his subconscious and hoping he'd actually stay there for longer than a few minutes this time.

"You don't like it, do you? How little time we've been spending together, that is." Judai pressed, smiling a little when Yusei shook his head.

"No… I would almost rather spend time with you than work on school and study." He admitted, looking down at his lap and playing with a loose string he found there. "I know I shouldn't say that, and that I shouldn't put school aside since we really will have all the time in the world after I graduate, but…still, it's frustrating. I want to do this right. It's been a long time since I've felt like this about anyone and had those feeling reciprocated or been able to pursue them. I'm not ready for this to end, and I don't want to make a mistake."

"Hey," Judai reached over and took Yusei's hand in his, squeezing just a little to get him to look up at him. "Making mistakes is exactly what this is all about. You don't have to do this perfectly right. You don't expect me to do this perfectly. Do you? Don't expect it of yourself. I _like_ you, Yusei. Mistakes and all. I'm not going anywhere, and this isn't going to end without a fight from both of us to make it work first. Okay? Besides, if it ends, it's not the end of the world. We'll still always be friends and we'll always support each other. That bond can't be broken, and you'd better believe it."

Yusei returned the grip on his hand and seemed to be searching for any hint of deceit in his eyes. Apparently satisfied with what he found, though, he smiled and nodded, letting out a soft sigh of relief. "Okay… I like you too, Judai."

"Promise?" Judai asked, letting go of his hand to hold up his pinky.

"Haha, I promise." Yusei interlocked their pinkies and shook on it with him, amusement clear at the childish action. "It's pretty late now. We should get some sleep."

Judai glanced at the clock and nodded. "You're right. It's way past your bedtime, even by the new curfew rules."

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight Judai," Yusei huffed, moment gone and rolling his eyes now as he got up and went back to his bed.

Yusei snuggled in under the covers, shivering a little at how cold they were compared to the warm body he'd just been forcefully held against. At least, he did feel a bit better about things and there was a warm feeling settling in his chest, thawing out that cold twist that had dominated his gut before.

"Goodnight, Stardust," Judai called out, settling down into his own bed.

"Goodnight, Kuriboh,"

* * *

 **Kitana: Yusei's touch aversion will be a lengthy discussion for them that I just couldn't reasonably fit in this chapter. Soon though, very soon. I love make ups almost as much as I love angst. (this is a lie. I love angst more)**

 **As always, thank you for reading, favoriting/following and reviewing! It honestly makes my day and I sit around beaming for hours on end and showing off your comments to my poor friends who are honestly very done with me. LoL (jk, they love me)**

 **Questions about Until the End of Time? You can reach me on my tumblr: kitana-lunara**


	17. Just Give Me A Reason

**Kitana: This chapter could potentially contain some content that readers find uncomfortable or triggering such as mentions of abuse and torture. None of it is gone into in heavy detail.**

* * *

The next morning, Judai didn't get a hug goodbye before Yusei was out the door and off to class. It had seemed like things were smoothed over. He'd seemed perfectly normal to him. The usual avoiding getting out of bed until the last minute, the usual greeting and a quiet breakfast. There wasn't any tension between them that he could feel, but when he left there was no goodbye hug. Judai had tried, but the other had stepped back and shook his head with an almost apologetic smile before leaving without so much as an explanation.

He really hadn't thought that last night would send him so many steps back in this regard. He thought they'd reached an agreement. That things were okay now. Their argument wasn't even about touch, so why would Yusei pull away?

"Martha, I just don't get it," Judai groaned, dramatically sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his chin on it. "Why does Yusei hate being touched so much? It's like he finds it repulsive sometimes… I mean, it seems like it's only noticeable when he's stressed, but still."

"Well, I can tell you he was never really a cuddly child unless he was sick and that was rare. He was far more interested in figuring out how things worked than seeking comfort, but he didn't start noticeably avoiding it until he became a teenager and he and the boys started running around with Kiryu taking over Satellite. Those crazy kids, I swear. They never considered how much worry they were putting me through… Whether or not they'd come home in pieces or at all." The matriarch shook her head. "It was some time after that that I noticed he started shrinking away from Jack and Crow on occasion. I didn't think much about it at the time. I thought he was just being a rebellious teen, and I could trust him to come to me when he was ready to talk. It's not my place to say what's going on in that head of his though."

Judai frowned a little. Yusei never talked about his past, even bringing up his parents before had been met with almost anger from the other, so he'd avoided the topic altogether. Sure, there were things he would rather Yusei never learn about him as well, but something like this felt important if they were going to be in a relationship together.

' _Still ashamed of me, are you?'_ Haou huffed, the king sounding more annoyed than usual. ' _It wasn't all my fault you know. You're just as much to blame and you know it. We took over the spirit world together. You loved it. The power. The freedom.'_

 _Shut up._

"Thanks Martha. I just… I'd never hurt him. I've never hurt him or even jokingly threatened to. I don't understand why sometimes he acts like it." Judai continued to vent, sitting up straight now.

"He knows that, Judai. Just…give him time. He'll come around when he's ready." Martha assured, putting a hand on his shoulder before going to take care of her business for the day.

Judai wasn't satisfied with that though. He wanted to know what was up, no he felt like he needed to know. There had to be a reason Yusei was so against this and he didn't like any of his theories. He couldn't get the sight of him flinching when he'd wrapped his arms around him last night out of his head or how he'd cringed and tried to pull away when all he'd done was put a hand on his head. He hated to think that Yusei was scared of him. He wanted him to feel safe, and while he understood that trust had to be built over time, he needed to know what happened and if he had done something wrong.

' _Are you sure you want to know?'_ Yubel asked, floating beside him. _'It's likely not something you can fix no matter how hard you try. Are you prepared for that? Besides, Martha said he'd tell you when he was ready. Shouldn't you trust her?'_

 _Yes. I need to know. What if it's something I did that reminded him of something bad that happened and that's why he's scared? If it's something I can't fix, then…I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it._ Judai replied with resolve, standing up from the table and flipping through the contacts on his phone. If he wanted answers and Yusei wasn't about to give them, maybe he could ask someone else for at least an idea of what kind of can of worms he was trying to pry open before he committed to it.

"Hey, Crow, are you working today?"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

They sat across from each other in a burger joint, just settling down after getting their orders.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Judai?" Crow asked, dipping his fries in his milkshake.

Judai chose him because he seemed more likely to talk to him than Jack, and the blonde was probably in another country dueling right now. Crow was also more levelheaded in some cases.

"I just…wanted to ask if anything happened to Yusei. He flinches whenever I so much as try to hug him or hold his hand without asking first." Judai explained, trying not to sound as frustrated as he felt. "It's been a little over a month since we started dating, and he was starting to let me hug him, but then we had an argument last night and now it seems like I'm back to square one. Martha said he started acting like this after grouping up with someone named Kiryu. What happened?"

"No. I'm gonna stop you right there, Yuki." Crow interrupted, steel eyes turning cold. "If Yusei wanted to tell you about it, he would."

"…So something did happen." Judai sighed and let his shoulders drop. "Crow, I'm worried. I don't want to hurt him, but is it so wrong to want some kind of physical affection from my boyfriend?"

Crow didn't seem to have any sympathy for that. "Judai, you should have realized before getting into a relationship with him that Yusei isn't the touchy affectionate type." He sighed a little and took a drink. "Look, it's not my place to tell you what happened. That's up to him to share. I don't appreciate you trying to go behind his back and find out and he won't either. Trust me. He's trying for you. Just…be patient."

"Crow…Do you really think he'd talk to me? He hates talking about his past. He just tells me it's over and that all that matters is that things are okay now. He didn't even tell me he'd been arrested or what the mark on his face meant until some woman dragged her kid away from him." It felt like a hopeless situation. He doubted Yusei would tell him anything.

"No one talks about their time in the Facility, Judai. I don't blame him for not telling you that before he couldn't avoid it. But…yeah, I think he will talk to you." Crow admitted, looking away from Judai. Sure, he'd encouraged Yusei when he'd come to ask him and Jack about whether or not to pursue Judai, but he was still unsure about whether or not he liked this. Judai was from another timeline, and sooner or later he might have to go back forever and Yusei would be left behind again. That's how most of the movies portrayed it anyway, and he didn't like the idea of him getting hurt like that. "Have you tried asking him about this yet?"

"Well, no," Judai stumbled over his words. "I just assumed he wouldn't. Is the Facility that bad? It's just jail, isn't it? I mean, sure the living conditions are cramped but it can't be that bad if you didn't do anything really wrong, can it?"

"Define 'really wrong' for me, Judai, because to Neo Domino back then? Satellite's very existence was wrong. I won't tell you what happened to Yusei there. I'm not a blabber mouth, but all of my stays there were unpleasant to say the least." Crow huffed, folding his arms. "Finish your food. I'll take you home."

"I see…" He laughed nervously, not about to argue with him. "Alright."

The drive back was awkward, but Crow didn't say anything else about Yusei and neither did Judai. When he got back, they parted ways like they'd had a pleasant lunch and he was left to go back into the house and mull over the confirmation that something definitely had happened to Yusei. Both people he'd talked to had said to give Yusei time though. How much time was that supposed to be?

When Yusei had gotten home, Judai had run through so many ideas and theories that he'd almost made himself nauseous. The internet had done what it did best and made everything worse. He'd read over so many horror stories of what happened to people in the Facility. Did Yusei really go through that too? How long was he there? Was any of it even true? Judai tried to ignore this newfound information and walked up to greet Yusei as though nothing was amiss, a smile on his face and hoping maybe he was just overthinking all of this and this morning had just been a fluke.

"Welcome back, Yusei," he greeted as happily as he could muster, about to try to hug him again but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Judai, thank you." The raven only smiled that same smile from that morning and lowered his hand, going about washing and putting away his lunch dishes. He seemed perfectly oblivious to the growing frown on his boyfriend's face especially as the day progressed.

He didn't once try to curl up to him that afternoon while studying, instead choosing to curl up with his blanket. Judai had tried to scoot over to him but was met with a quiet apology and polite request for space. Maybe Yusei had tried to reassure him that he wasn't upset with him and that it was just today, but that didn't stop the frustration.

"I'm sorry, Yusei, can we go for a walk?" Judai finally caved in after a couple hours of being unable to find anything interesting on TV to distract himself from the space between them and the thoughts swirling in his mind. There was still light out for now. "Please?"

Yusei looked out the window at the snow covered outdoors and then back to Judai like he'd grown a second head. "You want to go on a walk? Right now?"

Judai got up and nodded, holding his hand out to him. "Right now. Come on, you can drive us up to that cliff you like and walk around up there for a bit. I need some fresh air and…there's something I want to talk to you about. I'm not mad. I promise. Just… please and we go?"

Yusei's frown deepened, once more looking outside and grimacing at the thoughts of how cold it looked, but his shoulders dropped, and he closed his laptop. It must have been important if Judai was so insistent on dragging him out. He hesitated a little before accepting Judai's offered hand, standing with his help. "Alright… Just let me go put on a thicker jacket."

They were off within five minutes, Yusei bundling himself up in a thick hat, scarf and a second jacket over his usual. Judai felt a little bad for dragging him out into winter's cold winds, but he also knew he'd get a more honest answer from Yusei if they were truly alone.

When they arrived, he hopped off the dwheel, his shoes crunching in the snow. Yusei was still more reluctant and slow to get off and follow behind him. Perhaps he was as apprehensive as he was cold. Judai knew he would be if Yusei had asked the same.

"What did you want to talk about?" Yusei asked, stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets as they walked and burying his face into his scarf.

"Well, you see… I just-" Now that he was here, he was having second thoughts. What if Yusei got mad at him for asking and they fought again? He didn't want to walk home. Besides, what if what he read online was true?

' _Just spit it out.'_ Yubel huffed. _'What ifs are meaningless. Either you ask or I will. It's up to him if he shares or not.'_

"Yusei, I was curious. Why do you hate being touched?" Judai glanced back at him when he heard the footsteps behind him stop. Yusei looked surprised as if this was a new revelation to him, so he decided to explain himself. "Every time I've reached out to touch you, you flinch or pull away. You tense up whenever I hug you and shrink away from me like you're expecting something to hurt, especially if I or really anyone moves too quickly towards you. I-… I've never hurt you, and I'm not going to, Yusei. I promise. I just… I want to understand. Martha said you started acting a little like this after Kiryu and you mentioned before that you'd been arrested. Does that have anything to do with it?"

He took a chance and walked back to him, reaching out to cup his cheek and try to encourage him and help him see he was just concerned and worried about him, but the moment his hand so much as brushed his cheek over his mark, Yusei jerked back as if he'd been struck. "Yusei… What happened?"

 _What happened?_

The question repeated itself over and over in Yusei's head as he drew his scarf up over his nose and took a step away from Judai, starting to shiver from more than just the cold. He knew this was bound to come up, but he still wasn't ready to answer. Just thinking about it was enough to put him on edge. He wished he could explain it wasn't that he didn't like physical contact. That he didn't enjoy being curled up to Judai and taking advantage of how warm and comfortable he was. It felt impossible though for him to understand. Especially when he couldn't find the words to explain himself.

"Stardust, you can trust me. I promise." Judai tried again, this time keeping still and just holding his hands out, palm up. "Talk to me, please."

"I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. I know you want more from me, and you deserve that. It's not your fault. I… I can't help it." Yusei balled his hands into fists in his pockets, looking down at the snow-covered ground and wanting it to open and swallow him whole. He took a deep breath and turned, walking towards the railing of the cliffside overlook. "Judai, a _lot_ has happened, and I don't know that I'm ready to talk about it."

Judai followed after him and let him speak, honestly worried over the faraway glaze that had clouded the other's blue eyes. "Well, you don't have to talk about all of it, but…please, can you tell me a little? Did someone hurt you?"

That made Yusei almost shrink in on himself, his shoulders hunched, and his eyes now focused completely on a spot on the ground away from Judai. Though that was enough to give Judai an answer, he still gave a small nod.

"I… Satellite was dangerous, Judai, and I was naïve. I'd always seemed to have something protecting me in one way or another while I was growing up, but it vanished when I turned about 12. After that, I… I truly learned the place I lived in wasn't just a dump for trash, but the people that Neo Domino didn't want to deal with. I was jumped by a gang when I wandered out of the neutral zone around Martha's place. Jack and Crow carried me home once they found me. I'd tried to drag myself back, but only made it as far as the border. Things like that kept happening to all of us, and it wasn't long before Kiryu showed up. He…was confident and charismatic. It was easy to follow him and believe in his cause and we were getting too old to stay with Martha all the time anymore. So, we joined him and formed a gang, Team Satisfaction.

I guess we did what all teenagers did. We rough housed with each other and fought other gangs for territory through dueling. We even chased Security out of some areas. The goal was to take over all of Satellite. Make it safe under our rule so it would be safer for the younger kids at the orphanage. I wanted to prove myself to Kiryu. He…meant a lot to me."

"Did you, you know, like him?" Judai asked, unable to keep his curiosity to himself.

"I might have. I was young and he was just a couple years older. He paid attention to me and helped Jack and Crow. I was enamored. It felt like he treated me differently, but that was all in my head. Just a crush and nothing more. Besides, at the time, I really didn't think that kind of relationship was appropriate or acceptable. I really wanted to show Kiryu that I was… well, more.

I went on my own to try and claim a small section. The gang was rumored to be small and weak. I figured I could take them without the others for back up. They found out I was coming though and not only did I lose the duel and my deck, but…they decided to make a more physical impression. They used me as a warning of what happened when you entered their turf and discarded me in front of Jack's theater when they were done… Kiryu was furious with them and with me. He backhanded me and grabbed me by my arm which I found out later was broken so he could squeeze my side while he yelled at me. I knew my ribs were at least bruised, possibly fractured… Crow had to pull Jack off him, and honestly, I think I walked away from that in better condition. I'd never been struck before by anyone I considered family though, let alone had them intentionally hurt me. Not even Martha ever truly raised a hand to me other than maybe a swipe on my bottom when I was a kid… It didn't happen again until after we'd taken over Satellite and Kiryu started to become radical and extreme. Then, he would lash out whenever things didn't go his way or if we…rather if I tried to oppose him. I thought if I stayed by his side, the old Kiryu would come back, but he never did."

The words left his mouth as though they weren't his own. Yusei didn't feel like he was fully aware of them, and that he was listening to them just as Judai was. Once he'd started; however, it was difficult to stop even though he knew that what happened after Kiryu was far worse than simply being jumped, beat up or the events he'd left out. He didn't want to remember that, nor did he ever want Judai to learn of it.

"I got better after he was arrested, and for a few years things were okay. Then Jack pulled some stupid stunts which resulted in him stealing my original dwheel and Stardust, forcing me to build a new dwheel and chase after him. You remember how I told you Satellite and Neo Domino were separate though, right? Members of Satellite were forbidden from entering Neo Domino. After my duel with Jack, I was arrested…"

The memories of that night were still burned into his mind clear as day. The confusion, betrayal and fear as he was pulled off his runner while one of his closest friends only watched. Being handcuffed and thrown into the back of a patrol car. The pitch darkness followed by blinding light and questions from an unknown voice interrogating him. The pain of the mark being etched and embedded into his face. He could still remember how it felt to be herded like livestock into a cell and only referred to by a number. Then…there was the Chief.

He screwed his eyes shut, easily able to recall the scent of his breath in his face in place of the winter wind followed by the phantom sensation of nose hairs being blown onto his face. He could feel those large grimy hands searching him before giving the order for Yusei to be stripped. It was all too easy to remember the invasive search before he was strapped down to the metal table and the agonizing pain that followed. The electrocution from that cursed duel which seemed to set off a series of physically and emotionally painful duels one after the other.

Yusei felt himself slipping, falling down the rabbit hole like he'd done so many times during and after his stay in the Facility. After the Dark Signers. After Zone. He shook his head in attempts to shake the vertigo making his legs tremble, muttering an almost silent plea of 'stop' as he reached up, pinching his arm as hard as he could to try and snap himself out of it.

"…usei. Yusei! Stop it, you're hurting yourself."

His head snapped up when hands covered his own and pulled it off his arm. Judai clutched onto his hand and was staring at him with large worried eyes. His lips were moving, but Yusei was struggling to make sense of the sounds coming out of his mouth. He tried to pull his hand away, but Judai had an iron death grip on him.

"Let me go," he pleaded, using his free hand to attempt pushing Judai's off. In a swift motion though that hand was captured as well.

" _Yusei!_ Look. At. Me." Judai's voice was nearly thunderous to his ears held such an air of command there was no ignoring it.

Blue, tear-filled eyes met gold and though he only wanted to struggle more and escape, Yusei stopped and simply stood there, staring and trembling. He watched closely and didn't dare move a muscle as Judai slowly let go with one hand and brought it up to his face. He held his breath as Judai's hand lingered just within sight before it very gently was placed on his right cheek.

"Shhhh," Judai whispered, leaving his hand there until Yusei pressed his face into it. "There. See? You're okay. You're safe."

Yusei felt the grip on his hand loosen and watched Judai drop his other arm to his side out of the corner of his eyes. He didn't dare break eye contact with him and watched as his eyes had melted into a warm chocolate brown. When he felt the other try to take his hand away, his own hands flew up reflexively to hold it in place by grabbing hold of his fingers and wrist.

"Wait. Don't…" He didn't understand himself. He didn't want anyone to touch him when he felt like this, but…this felt okay. He wanted this.

His shoulders and back finally released the tension that strung them tighter than a violin's strings. He let go of Judai's hand and he took a step towards him then another, so he was almost nose to nose with him. Yusei pursed his lips then bowed his head and let himself slump forward, his head coming to rest on Judai's shoulder as he wrapped his arms tentatively around him. He waited anxiously before he felt Judai's arms slowly come up to hold him securely to the other's chest. This time, he didn't flinch when a hand carded its fingers in his hair.

"You're safe, Yusei. I promise. I'm so sorry I asked about this. I shouldn't have pushed you." Judai spoke quietly over his head. "It's okay…You're okay."

Something deep within him started to crumble as he listened to him and with it fell his resolve. Yusei buried his face into the crook of Judai's neck, and he gripped the back of his jacket like a lifeline feeling Judai's grip around him tightened in kind. He wasn't entirely sure if he was crying or if he was just having a hard time breathing still. All he wanted was to hide in the warmth of this embrace until the phantom touches and pain faded back into the background of his mind before vanishing altogether. It was only then when he felt like he could breathe again that he dared to lift his head.

His throat still felt tight and his voice was quiet when he finally tried to speak. He was scared. He didn't know if Judai was going to reject him after seeing him act like this, and he hadn't even told him the worst of what happened. He was sure the other would leave him for being so weak and pathetic. "Judai…"

"Yusei…listen, I'm so sorry. I really am. I… I shouldn't have pried. I didn't mean for this, I swear. I'm sorry. I just…I was selfish." Judai still didn't feel like he had all the answers he wanted, but he knew better than to try and push Yusei for more tonight. That could wait, and at least now he had an idea of why.

"No, it's not your fault. I…I don't know why this happens. Sometimes, I can talk to Crow or Jack or Aki and be fine…other times, this happens. I don't understand. I'm sorry." He shook his head and nestled back into the other after a particularly strong gust of wind blew by. "I'm cold… can we go back now?"

"Yeah, of course. Whatever you want, Stardust."

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 **Kitana: Yusei's got a lot of built up trauma and not a lot of good coping mechanisms. Writing this was hard, is hard. I didn't want to portray panic or flashbacks inappropriately or romanticize it.**  
 **Judai also displays his love and affection through touch. Being blocked from doing so is really upsetting for him, so I hope that explains his impulsivity and insistence on finding out why his boyfriend won't let him.**

 **As always, thank you for reading, reviewing and favoriting/following!**  
 **Questions? You can reach me on tumblr: kitana-lunara or send me a pm**


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